City Kickboxing bantamweight Aaron Tau. Photo: Instagram
The Māori warrior spirit was on full display.
Kiwi MMA fighter Aaron Tau has fallen short in his quest for a UFC contract, but he went out swinging in an absolute war.
Taking on American Elijah Smith at bantamweight, both men swung for the fences in the closing stages of their main event of Dana White's Contender Series.
Covered in claret, Tau continued to walk down his opponent and throw heavy leather, culminating in a thrilling and violent exchange to end the show.
However, the damage had been done, particularly in the opening round where Tau struggled to find his range and rhythm, and despite looking like a killer in the third, the judges gave the decision to Smith.
The scorecards read 29-28 across the board, marking the first loss of Tau's combat sports career, having gone 8-0 as a professional prior to today.
President Dana White would offer Smith a UFC contract in the wake of his win.
"Dog fight, Absolute dog fight. Aaron came out showboating in the beginning, smiling, sticking his tongue out he found out you weren't playing tonight. I thought you were gong to pick him apart, I thought it was going to be a quick fight, he came back out in the second, and got serious, and turned this into an absolute war, hitting you with bombs, tonight was the night you to dig deep, you showed the dog in you kid," he told ESPN.
Smith was not overly pleased with his effort.
"This wasn't my best performance. This was a lot."
Tau came to the octagon full of confidence, menacingly staring down his opponent.
'Tauzemup' gave up a four inch reach advantage to Smith, who was also taller and younger than Tau.
While he appeared comfortable, getting clipped early and smiling it off, Tau then ate some stiff jabs and was wobbled.
Stuffing the first takedown attempt, Tau was swinging wildly but only finding air.
The Ngāpuhi fighter then found himself on the canvas as Smith expertly hip tossed him and began to rain down elbows.
This would slice Tau open on the forehead, Smith closing out a one-sided five minutes with some more crisp combinations.
Round two began much the same, Smith busting Tau's nose before landing a double leg after several stuffed attempts, locking in a guillotine which almost ended the bout.
Tau managed to survive and even get back to his feet to close out the second.
The Warrior was then awakened, as Tau came out with intent in the third.
A flurried exchange to kick things off, the action did not slow, Tau landing a perfect head/body combo to send Smith reeling.
Tau began teeing off on Smith who was notably rocked by the resurgence.
Landing at will, Smith shot for a takedown in desperation but Tau easily stuffed it, and the men stood and traded heavy shots to end the fight in thrilling fashion.
Despite his heart and fortitude, the performance was not enough for Tau to convince White to offer him the contract.
Prior to his fight, Tau spoke about how important his Māori heritage is to him.
"Being Māori to me, is everything. It's the way I carry myself, It's the way I act, it's the way I feel, it's the way I chase my dreams. It's such a core belief system, you can't fake it. I want people to undeniably know where I am from. I am the embodiment of that warrior spirit, I get to remind the world where the greatest warriors hail from."
Some of the biggest names in the UFC today came through DWCS such as 'Suga' Sean O'Malley, Jahmal Hill, Kevin Holland and Jack Della Maddalena.
Just last week, another City Kickboxing member Navajo Stirling won his place on the UFC roster with a devastating knockout of American light heavyweight Phillip Latu.
