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Israel Adesanya reveals he’s split with longtime head coach Eugene Bareman and City Kickboxing: ‘A long time coming’

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Israel Adesanya reveals he’s split with longtime head coach Eugene Bareman and City Kickboxing: ‘A long time coming’

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.â€

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.â€

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.â€

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.â€

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MMA

Why did Lewis Hamilton block Jon Jones? UFC icon reveals hunting dispute

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Why did Lewis Hamilton block Jon Jones? UFC icon reveals hunting dispute
F1 star Lewis
Hamilton was very disappointed with Jon Jones for
an unexpected reason.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship double champ recently recalled
an incident that led Hamilton to unfollow and block him on social
media. Jones had joined Army Rangers on a hunting trip from a
helicopter with rifles. He even managed to shoot a pig, which was
donated to an underprivileged family. However. Hamilton was
disappointed with Jones' way of hunting.

Jon Jones explains how Lewis Hamilton reacted to his helicopter
pig hunt and why the F1 icon cut ties on social media

Hamilton called Jones a “coward†for shooting the animal from a
helicopter. The former F1 champ believes that animals should be
hunted traditionally with spears or arrows, to give them a fighting
chance.

“I went hunting years ago with a bunch of Army Rangers and we ended
up hunting pigs from a helicopter using AR-15s,†Jones told ALF
Global. “I was so proud of myself because I killed one of the pigs
from the helicopter and my pig was donated to an underprivileged
family in the community. But Lewis saw me shoot the pig from the
helicopter. And he wrote me a long message saying that I was a
coward. And that he thought that I was better than that. He said
that the traditional way of killing an animal should be with a
spear or with a bow and an arrow. He wrote something like, ‘Only a
coward could shoot an animal from a helicopter. Give the animal a
chance to fight you back at least.'â€

Hamilton subsequently unfollowed and blocked Jones on social media.
The latter has now offered an apology to the legendary Brit.

“He unfollowed me and he blocked me and it sucked because I was his
fan,†Jones added. “I was a fan of him, but he was very
disappointed in me for shooting the pig. Lewis, if you're
listening, I'm sorry.â€

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MMA

Jon Jones defends legacy, says he never used steroids despite failed tests

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Jon Jones defends legacy, says he never used steroids despite failed tests
Despite failing multiple drug tests, Jon Jones
insists that he never used steroids.

Jones (28-1) is considered one of the greatest fighters in
Ultimate Fighting Championship history. However, his legacy is
marred by multiple anti-doping violations throughout his career.
The former two-division champion recently reiterated past claims
that he's never taken performance-enhancing substances.

Jon Jones' UFC career remains tied to anti-doping controversies
and GOAT debates

Jones was stripped of the interim UFC lightweight heavyweight title
after testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole following his
win over Ovince St.
Preux in 2016. He again tested positive for a turinabol
metabolite in 2017, which led to his stoppage win over Daniel
Cormier in their rematch being overturned to a no contest.

While Jones tested positive for the M3 metabolite of oral turinabol
in 2018 following his win over Alexander
Gustafsson, “Bones†wasn't penalized as the substance was
deemed to be lasting effects from his previously failed drug
test.

However, Jones refuses to accept his doping violations. The former
UFC double champ insists that the failed drug tests were a result
of tainted supplements and also claims that the substances found in
his failed drug tests had no performance-enhancing effects.

“Never took steroids,†Jones told ALF Global. “It was a supplement
found in my body. It was proven to come from a supplement company
that I was using. It was a tainted supplement that I was using. The
amount of this substance that was in my body was so small that it
took very expensive scientists to be able to even find it and the
supplement that was found in my body has zero performance-enhancing
effects, zero. And that’s very well documented.â€

Jones then addressed fans and fighters who diminish his
accomplishments, claiming they don't look at the facts and jump to
conclusions.

“For some reason, the fans ignore all that, and they’re just like,
‘Something about steroids, he’s guilty.' I never did and that was
proven. It’s funny because fighters are like, ‘Jon Jones is a
knucklehead, but he’s brilliant enough to do steroids and trick the
UFC’s scientists.' It’s like, which one is it? Am I the knucklehead
or the mad genius?â€

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MMA

Former UFC fighter Anthony Smith arrested on serious felony charges

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Former UFC fighter Anthony Smith arrested on serious felony charges
Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Anthony
Smith has been arrested on multiple charges.

Anthony Smith remains in custody after his arrest in Nebraska
on multiple criminal charges

Smith (39-22) was arrested in Sarpy County, Nebraska, on charges of
terroristic threat, 1st degree false imprisonment and domestic
violence causing serious bodily injury. The former UFC light
heavyweight title challenger currently remains in police custody in
Sarpy County.

Terroristic threat and 1st degree false imprisonment carry a
maximum of three years in prison, plus fines and post-release
supervision. Meanwhile, the domestic violence charge can result in
a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Smith left the UFC on a three-fight slump following a loss to
Mingyang
Zhang last year. “Lionheart†returned to competition this past
April, scoring a submission win in Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA.

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