TLDR
- Israel Adesanya left City Kickboxing in July after training there since 2009
- The former UFC champion has lost four straight fights since April 2023
- Adesanya built a new team focused specifically on his individual training needs
- He calls this his best and most fun training camp in years
- Adesanya is rumored to fight Sharabutdin Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia on December 5
Sources: sherdog.com | mmafighting.com | bloodyelbow.com
Israel Adesanya has left City Kickboxing after 16 years and believes the change will end his career-worst losing streak. The former two-time UFC middleweight champion parted ways with the Auckland gym in July after losing four straight fights.
Adesanya has built his own training team focused specifically on his needs. In a recent video on his YouTube channel, he said this is the best he has felt in years.
“I can truly say, with my departure from my old gym, CKB, and now building the team that I have and training specifically for me, this is the best I’ve felt in a very long time,” Adesanya said. “For real.”
Sensational @Stylebender 🌀 🇳🇿 🔥#OnThisDay in 2018: Israel Adesanya moved to 15-0 with this KO! pic.twitter.com/HSybnyPE0Z
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 3, 2026
The 35-year-old fighter has not won inside the octagon since April 2023. That night, he knocked out Alex Pereira to reclaim the middleweight championship.
Since then, Adesanya has suffered four consecutive defeats. He lost the title to Sean Strickland by decision in September 2023. Then he was submitted by Dricus du Plessis and knocked out by both Nassourdine Imavov and Joe Pyfer.
The loss to Pyfer in March 2024 marked the final fight before Adesanya decided to leave City Kickboxing. He trained at the gym since 2009.
New Team Built Around Individual Needs
Adesanya explained that his new setup allows his team to focus entirely on him. At City Kickboxing, he trained alongside numerous UFC fighters including Alexander Volkanovski, Carlos Ulberg, Robert Whittaker, Dan Hooker, and Kai Kara-France.
His current team is smaller and built specifically for his preparation. Adesanya called this his most fun training camp since fighting Pereira in 2022 or 2023.
“This is the most fun training camp I’ve had in years,” he said. “That’s going to show on fight night. I’ve been in fight week shape for weeks, my regular fight week shape.”
Adesanya did not fully explain why he left City Kickboxing. When he first announced the split, he called it “bittersweet” but did not give details.
In his recent video, he reflected on his time at the gym. “I could have been a better teammate because I could have made better bonds at CKB with certain people who I’ve trained with for years,” he said.
Return Set for December in Saudi Arabia
Adesanya said he has been doing more self-reflection since leaving the gym. “I’m being better now. I have nothing to hide; let’s go,” he said. “I’m glad that I’m here and I can just own my shit and know I’m going to be better now from all the lessons I learned.”
The fighter is rumored to face Sharabutdin Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia on December 5 in Riyadh. The promotion has not officially confirmed the matchup yet.
Magomedov, known as “Shara Bullet,” holds a record of 17-1. Adesanya’s record currently stands at 24-6.
Adesanya has been in fight week shape for several weeks already according to his comments. He said he looks forward to seeing how he appears during actual fight week in December.
