Adesanya splits with coach Bareman and City Kickboxing after four straight losses

Israel Adesanya has ended his 15-year association with head coach Eugene Bareman and City Kickboxing, the New Zealand gym that shaped him into a five-time UFC middleweight champion. The 36-year-old announced the split on Instagram on Thursday, confirming he will enter his next fight camp under new leadership for the first time in his UFC career.

“I spoke to Eugene face-to-face and I told him I am not coming back to CKB,” Adesanya wrote. “This was something a long time coming behind the scenes. We have an understanding. I won’t lie, it sucks.”

The decision follows the most difficult stretch of Adesanya’s career. He has lost four consecutive bouts, the most recent a second-round TKO defeat to Joe Pyfer in March, and he appeared to acknowledge that a change in training environment was a prerequisite for booking his next fight.

“Insanity is doing the same shit and expecting a different result,” Adesanya said. “It’s bittersweet. But it’s the right thing for me, especially where I’m at in my career. It’s exactly what I needed.”

Adesanya first joined City Kickboxing in 2009 and relocated to Auckland full time in 2010. The partnership produced one of the more decorated runs in middleweight history: between his UFC debut in 2018 and his title loss to Sean Strickland in 2023, he defended the belt five times. He lost the championship to Alex Pereira in 2022 before reclaiming it with a knockout of the Brazilian in 2023, only to drop it again to Strickland later that year.

Despite the acrimonious end to that chapter, Adesanya was careful to credit City Kickboxing for his rise. “CKB made me into the fighter that I am today,” he said. “But also, I was one of the main pillars that put CKB on the map on the world stage. I’m proud of that.”

Adesanya did not reveal where he plans to train next or who will serve as his new head coach, but he indicated he is seeking a more focused programme in which he receives the bulk of individual attention as he prepares for his comeback.