When Israel Adesanya makes his return to action, he’ll have a new head coach in his corner for the first time in his UFC career.
On Thursday, the former UFC middleweight champion announced that he’s split with longtime coach Eugene Bareman and he’s no longer training out of the City Kickboxing gym based in New Zealand. Adesanya has trained there since 2009 before relocating full time to the area in 2010 to call City Kickboxing his home.
“I spoke to Eugene face-to-face and I told him I am not coming
back to CKB,” Adesanya posted on Instagram. “This was something a long time coming behind the scenes. We have an understanding. I won’t lie, it sucks. Not anymore. Grief comes in waves for me, for most people. It comes in waves. I’ve had great days but I’ve also had days where [this sucks].
“It’s a long time coming. I want just want to get it out of the way because I want you to hear it from the horse’s mouth. No one else has spoken about it. Those who know are waiting for the ball to drop. I dropped the ball.”
Adesanya didn’t deal what exactly led to the split, although he seemed to reference a pattern of his training and preparation that needed to change before he booked his next fight.
The 36-year-old veteran has suffered through the toughest run of his career with four losses in a row including a second-round TKO in his most recent outing against Joe Pyfer back in March.
“It’s bittersweet,” Adesanya said. “But it’s the right thing for me, especially where I’m at in my career. It’s exactly what I needed.
“Insanity is doing the same shit and expecting a different result. I think that’s it. I just don’t want to talk about it. It’s something, it sucks, I want to grieve in peace.”
While he’s no longer working with the coaches or fighters at City Kickboxing, Adesanya paid homage to his now former team for building him into the champion he became in the UFC.
Between his debut in 2018 and losing his title to Sean Strickland in 2023, Adesanya went on a remarkable run as a five-time defending middleweight champion. He dropped the belt to longtime rival Alex Pereira in in 2022 but then avenged that loss with a stunning knockout over the Brazilian in 2023.
“CKB made me into the fighter that I am today,” Adesanya said. “They’ve trained a lot of great fighters, Greats. Even better than myself. Me as an individual, CKB made me into the fighter that I am today.
“But also, I was one of the main pillars that put CKB on the map on the world stage. To take it to the next level where people from all over the world want to come train at CKB. I’m proud of that.”
Adesanya didn’t indicate where he might train next or who could be put in charge of future fight camps but it appears he plans on running a more focused program where he’s receiving the bulk of the attention as he gets ready to compete again.
“What I need for myself is focused, individual training,” Adesanya said. “I’ve made the decision to leave CKB for my own reasons. I’ll leave it at that.”
