While the UFC world is busy rejoicing over Conor McGregor‘s comeback at UFC 329, Israel Adesanya has stunned everyone with a bombshell announcement. With a heavy heart, the former two-time middleweight champion revealed that he has parted ways with City Kickboxing (CKB) and his longtime coach, Eugene Bareman.

“I spoke to Eugene face-to-face, and I told him I am not coming back to CKB,” Adesanya shared via his YouTube channel. “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. It’s bittersweet. 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 s—t 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.”   

Though Adesanya will continue working with Andrei Paulet (CKB’s wrestling coach) as his primary head coach, he didn’t explicitly mention the reason behind his departure from Bareman and City Kickboxing, a gym he has called home since 2009. While he has previously trained under local coaches in New Zealand during his amateur run, he has largely stayed with the CKB team for the entire duration of his professional MMA career.

However, reading between the lines, it’s easy to understand that the Nigerian-Kiwi’s four-fight losing streak, most recent being the second-round stoppage loss to Joe Pyfer in March 2026, might’ve played a role in the difficult decision, as he believes stepping out of his longtime gym could bring a “different” result.

With ‘The Last Stylebender’ now out of CKB, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine many camps gladly welcoming the middleweight legend. However, unexpectedly, rising heavyweight contender Josh Hokit was among the first to reach out to Adesanya with an invite.

“Hey, I heard you were leaving CKB,” Hokit’s message to Adesanya read.

“Yes, I am,” Adesanya replied. “I’m also a huge fan of you and your stuff. You fight at heavyweight which is heavier than my weight class. You’re really strong, I bet.” 

“Haha, yes, Adesanya, I’m really strong,” Hokit responded. “Would you like to do your next training camp with me?”    

“Yes, but I’m not sure if I can handle it or even deserve it,” the former middleweight champion wrote.

“I’ll help you to get your belt back,” Hokit promised.  

“Okay, and I thought it was so cool how you stood up to Pereira, he is scary,” Adesanya stated in his reply.

Soon after, the undefeated heavyweight posted the private conversation on X, stating that he would help the 36-year-old get his title back.

To be fair, Israel Adesanya is one of the fighters who has given Josh Hokit credit for staying true to his character while still showcasing impressive fighting skills. However, he also criticized the UFC heavyweight over his comments about Michelle Obama during the UFC White House event. Other than that, the former 185-pound champion doesn’t appear to have any real animosity toward Hokit. In that case, the two could end up working together in the future, although Adesanya has never previously shown any interest in training with him.

While the offer to Izzy was seemingly unexpected, considering they’ve never been close friends, when it comes to inviting fighters to train with him, the 28-year-old has in the past extended the offer once before. A few months ago, Hokit urged Paulo Costa to join his camp despite the pair actively feuding after UFC 327 over UFC bonus money.

Now that Israel Adesanya has decided to change the course of his training journey, he has taken the time to pay tribute to City Kickboxing for helping shape both his career and his life as a mixed martial artist.

Israel Adesanya gives credit to CKB for shaping him into a better fighter

For Adesanya, the decision to leave his longtime gym was undoubtedly a difficult one. Despite the differences that ultimately led to the split, the former middleweight champion made sure to credit City Kickboxing for shaping both his MMA career and who he is as a person.

“CKB made me into the fighter that I am today,” Adesanya added in the video. “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.”

As the Nigerian-Kiwi pointed out, he, Kai Kara-France, and Dan Hooker are regarded as some of the original members of City Kickboxing, forging a brotherhood through years of training together. Later, two-time featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski also began training under Eugene Bareman while continuing to represent his Australian gym, Freestyle MMA.

That said, with Israel Adesanya now searching for a new training environment ahead of his comeback, it will be interesting to see where and who he ends up with and how it reflects in his next fight.