Navajo Stirling Says City Kickboxing Hasn't Missed a Beat Without Adesanya

Navajo Stirling steps into the co-main event at UFC Belgrade on Saturday against former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, and he's doing it without one of the biggest names in his corner. Israel Adesanya recently cut ties with head coach Eugene Bareman and the City Kickboxing gym in New Zealand after more than a decade under that roof, a move Adesanya described as a long time coming.

The split shook the MMA world, but Stirling isn't among the wounded parties. Fresh off a win over Ivan Erslan at UFC 315 in Montreal back in May, the New Zealander said he was happy for Adesanya, arguing that a fighter sometimes needs a change of scenery to reset. He knows firsthand what a fresh start can do, and he insisted everyone at the gym wants nothing but the best for the former champ.

Stirling was quick to credit Adesanya for building a road that a whole generation followed. He said 'The Last Stylebender' paved the way not just for City Kickboxing fighters but for Kiwis and Australians across the board, and that the entire region still looks up to him.

The Gym Didn't Blink

Here's the part rivals should note: Stirling says losing Adesanya hasn't made camp any harder. He described City Kickboxing as loaded with talent, from marquee names to guys nobody's heard of yet, and said the gym is in as good a spot as it's ever been. His point is simple. The team is bigger than any single fighter, even one as decorated as Adesanya.

That depth now includes former UFC middleweight king Robert Whittaker, who Stirling says has been part of his preparation for Blachowicz. Swapping one former champion's presence for another isn't a bad trade when you're the guy positioned to lead the gym's next wave. Stirling framed himself as exactly that, a central piece of the surging style coming out of the gym.

As for Adesanya, the picture stays murky. Since announcing his departure he hasn't said where he'll train next or when he'll return to the Octagon. For now the attention shifts to Belgrade, where Stirling has a chance to knock off a former titleholder and prove that City Kickboxing's engine keeps running with or without its most famous export.