​One of the most iconic coach-fighter duos in UFC middleweight history is now a thing of the past. On Thursday, former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya announced his split from longtime coach Eugene Bareman and the City Kickboxing gym. He delivered the news through his YouTube channel, revealing that the decision had already been made and discussed behind closed doors weeks earlier.
“On Wednesday, the 20th of May, I spoke to Eugene face-to-face, and I told him I’m not coming back to CKB,” Adesanya stated. He described the move as something that had been building for a long time, a decision with an underlying understanding between him and the team. He didn’t sugarcoat the process, acknowledging the emotional weight of the moment. “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, and most people who have grieved before know that. This comes in waves. I’ve had great days, but I’ve also had days where I’m like, ‘F***.’ Like I said, it’s a long time coming. I just want to get it out there. I want you to hear it from the horse’s mouth because no one else has spoken about it, and those who know are waiting for the ball to drop, so I drop the ball. It’s bittersweet, but it’s the right thing for me, especially where I am in my career. It’s exactly what I needed. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I think that’s it.”
The decision comes at a moment when Adesanya is navigating the longest losing streak of his professional tenure. He has dropped four consecutive fights, all ending in finishes, with his most recent setback a second-round TKO loss to Joe Pyfer in March. At 36 years old, Adesanya had been an official member of City Kickboxing since 2010, and with Bareman in his corner, he ascended to the sport’s pinnacle, capturing the middleweight title, defending it six times, and reclaiming it after a defeat to Alex Pereira in a subsequent rematch.
Despite the split, Adesanya did not overlook the significance of the memories and the impact City Kickboxing had on his development. He individually thanked many members of the City Kickboxing team, acknowledging the role they played in his ascent and the global reach they helped the gym achieve. Adesanya credited City Kickboxing with elevating him to the highest levels of combat sports and helping to put the gym on the world map, drawing fighters from around the globe who sought to train there.
Adesanya signaled that a change in approach is necessary, though he refrained from detailing the exact reasons or the specifics of what changes he intends to implement. He also did not reveal whether he had an immediate plan to align with a new camp or training environment. “I just don’t want to talk about it,” he said. “It’s something that sucks. I want to grieve in peace. If people want to bring it up, that’s fine. But don’t ask me about it. I don’t do interviews anyway, so nobody’s going to ask me about it. I first joined CKB in 2009, moved there in 2010, and established myself as a fighter there. CKB molded me into the fighter I am today. They’ve trained a lot of great fighters—the greats, perhaps even more skilled than myself. But as an individual, CKB helped shape me into who I am. I was also a key pillar that brought CKB onto the world stage, helping to elevate them to new heights where athletes from all over the world want to train there. I’m proud of that. What I need for myself now is focused, individual training, so I’ve made the decision to leave CKB for my own reasons. I’ll leave it at that.”
The revelation is likely to spark discussions about Adesanya’s next steps, potential new coaching relationships, and how he will reorient his training as he moves forward in his career. It marks a significant pivot after more than a decade within City Kickboxing, a partnership that played a central role in shaping one of the UFC’s most recognizable middleweights. As Adesanya processes this transition, fans and analysts will closely watch how his preparation evolves and what the next chapter of his competitive journey looks like.