Dan Hooker still covets the ultimate goal of wearing UFC gold, but moulding the next generation of Kiwi fighters is fast becoming a priority.
Less than a week after watching City Kickboxing teammates Israel Adesanya, Kai-Kara France, Brad Riddell and Shane Young in the Octagon on UFC Fight Island, Hooker is preparing two of his protégés for New Zealand's biggest mixed martial arts event.
King in the Ring returns on Friday night with eight lightweights battling for the converted crown, while the card also features several superfights.
The Dan Hooker Combat Academy has two fighters in action at Auckland's Eventfinda Stadium - Yassin Yass in the tournament and Nate Law takes on Ili Taufuiaevalu in a superfight.
Hooker's academy has been open a little more than two years and is starting to attract talented youngsters looking to emulate their mentor.
For Yass, it's an honour to have 'The Hangman' in his corner.
"It's real humbling," Yass tells Newshub. "He can relate to every part of a fight that you are experiencing.
"Whether you are dominating, gassed or hurting, he knows exactly what to say and he knows how to guide you through the tough times.
"You can always count on Dan saying the right thing in the corner. His fight IQ is off the chain."
Hooker, the fourth-ranked UFC lightweight contender still trains at City Kickboxing, but his day job is coaching both amateurs and budding professionals at his Ellerslie academy.
His academy provides a very different experience for the 30-year-old, who admits preparing someone for a fight is a lot more work.
"This is more challenging than fighting," Hooker tells Newshub. "When I am in the cage, I can control what I am doing.
"I can't control someone else, so this is a whole new experience.
"I am learning so much, so quickly. I'm still very young in the coaching game, but I'm surrounded by some of New Zealand's coaching greats in Jason Suttie, Eugene Bareman and Karl Weber.
"These are guys that have been doing this as long as I have been alive. To have to match that challenge - it's such a big learning experience."
Hooker was 14 fights into his remarkable career, when the UFC came knocking 2014.
'The Hangman' got his shot in MMA's big league after a late-night call to a UFC executive, who was a guest on a New Zealand sports radio show.
The UFC had just announced its first venture into New Zealand and Hooker talked his way onto the card.
The rest - including five post-fight bonuses, main eventing UFC Auckland, and two of the best fights of 2020 against Paul Felder and Dustin Poirer - is history
But the 29-fight veteran has no time for reminiscing, as he plots a run at the UFC lightweight title.
"To me, I still feel like I have so much left I want to accomplish, but this - what I have now - is more than I ever could have imagined.
"I said I would retire when I won a New Zealand title, but as soon as I won that, I set myself a new goal. It's a slow progression, as you keep ticking off boxes.
"The goalposts keep shifting. I feel like I have accomplished some things, yes, but there is so much more left for me."
But before all of that comes his coaching duties on Friday night.
Law only got into the sport 18 months ago and has built a handy 6-1 record. He admits he has a long way to go, but watching fighters like his coach and Israel Adesanya in action makes the bright lights of the UFC seem attainable.
"When I see those guys fight, it gives me that little bit of extra motivation to come in and work hard at the gym, because you know they've been where you are. Look at what Izzy is achieving right now... it drives you.
"I've been lucky enough to train with some of those guys and you see how they prepare. There just couldn't be a better pathway for me."
That pathway begins at King in the Ring - the first step towards emulating Hooker as one of the UFC's elite.
