The end of an era has arrived in mixed martial arts.
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya announced that he is leaving City Kickboxing, the Auckland, New Zealand gym that helped transform him into one of the greatest strikers in UFC history. Speaking on his “FREESTYLEBENDER” YouTube channel, Adesanya described the decision as painful but necessary, saying the time had come to pursue a new path in hopes of reigniting his career.
“So Wednesday 20th May, I spoke to Eugene (Bareman) face to face and I told him I am not coming back to CKB. This was something a long time coming behind the scenes, and we have an understanding. I won’t lie, it sucks,” Adesanya said on his YouTube Channel ‘Freestylebender’.
“Grief comes in waves for me. For most people I’ve grieved before so this comes in waves. I’ve had great days, but also there’s days where I’m like….it’s a long time coming. I just want to get it out the way just because I want you to hear it from the horses mouth because no one else has spoken about it.”
Change is never easy, especially when it means leaving behind the people who helped build your career. Adesanya said the decision to move on from CKB was necessary, but it’s also something he’s still trying to come to terms with away from the spotlight.
“It’s bittersweet, but it’s the right thing for me. Specially where I am at in my career. It’s exactly what I needed. Insanity is doing the same sh*t and expecting a different result. I think that’s it,” he said.
“I just don’t want to talk about it. It sucks, I want to grieve in peace, people want to bring it up that’s cool, but don’t ask me about it.”
If anyone expected Adesanya to take shots at CKB on the way out, they were disappointed. The former champion made sure to give credit where it was due, saying the gym built the fighter he became while also pointing out that his own success helped put CKB on the map for the rest of the MMA world.
“2009 is when I first went to CKB. 2010 is when I moved over and I established myself in Auckland to train at CKB and CKB made me into the fighter that I am today. They’ve trained a lot of great fighters, greats, even better than myself,” he said.
“But me as an individual CKB made me into the fighter that I am today. But also I was one of the main pillars who 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.”
At the end of the day, Adesanya says this wasn’t about drama or pointing fingers. It was about looking in the mirror, figuring out what he needs to get back to the top, and making a difficult decision for the next chapter of his career.
“What I need for myself is focused, individual, training. So I’ve made the decision to leave CKB for my own reasons. I’ll leave it at that,” Adesanya said.
