Israel Adesanya's New Chapter in Sydney MMA
Israel Adesanya has chosen his new fighting home, and it is a long way from Auckland.
The former UFC middleweight champion has set up shop in Sydney, dropping into the Freestyle MMA Performance Centre to train alongside featherweight ruler Alexander Volkanovski and fast-rising lightweight Mauricio Ruffy. For a man trying to reboot a once-dominant career, this is not a quiet reset. It is a statement.
A New Gym, A New Chapter
Footage posted by Engage, the combat sports brand linked to Adesanya and Volkanovski, showed the ex-champion walking into Volkanovski’s base in Australia, gloves on, eyes sharp, ready to work. Another clip, this time from Ruffy’s social media, captured the Brazilian and Adesanya flowing through drills together, confirming that the move is not a brief guest appearance. He is in camp mode.
Freestyle MMA, run by long-time Volkanovski coach Joe Lopez, now looks like Adesanya’s primary training ground, at least for the foreseeable future. The mats were crowded with familiar faces. Coaches from Thailand’s Bangtao MMA — including recently retired UFC fighter Brad Riddell and respected coach George Hickman — appeared in the videos, taking on coaching duties and adding another layer of high-end experience around the former champion.
For Adesanya, it is a dramatic pivot just two months after he publicly closed the door on his long-time home at City Kickboxing in New Zealand. He announced the split on his YouTube channel, calling it a necessary break after the toughest spell of his career.
“It’s bittersweet, but it’s the right thing for me, especially where I’m at in my career,” he said then. The emotion was clear. So was the intent.
Leaving the Comfort Zone
The need for change is obvious when you look at the numbers. Adesanya is coming off four straight defeats, a brutal run for a fighter who once made the middleweight division look like his personal playground. His last win came back in April 2023, when he knocked out Alex Pereira at UFC 287 to reclaim the belt in spectacular fashion.
Since then, the slide has been steep. The loss to Joe Pyfer at UFC Fight Night 271 in March appears to have been the breaking point — the moment that pushed him away from the familiarity of City Kickboxing and into something entirely new.
City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman did not stand in his way. Quite the opposite. In a statement to “She Loves the Gloves” on Medium, Bareman backed his former champion’s decision and framed it as a chance for renewal.
He called it an honor to have contributed to Adesanya’s success and stressed that the door in Auckland remains open, saying Adesanya is welcome at CKB and will always be part of the gym’s family. There was no bitterness, only recognition that great careers sometimes demand uncomfortable choices.
Surrounded by Champions
If Adesanya wanted intensity, he has walked into the right room.
Volkanovski is deep in preparation to defend his featherweight title against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on October 24. Across the training floor, Ruffy is pushing through his own high-stakes camp ahead of a potential No. 1 contender clash with Arman Tsarukyan in the co-main event of UFC 331 on September 19.
These are not tune-up fights. These are career-shaping nights, and Adesanya is now embedded in that same atmosphere. Every round matters. Every drill has consequence.
His presence instantly changes the texture of the gym. Volkanovski has long bridged the gap between Freestyle MMA and City Kickboxing, moving between the two camps throughout his rise. Now the bridge runs the other way. Adesanya, once the centerpiece of CKB, is stepping fully into Volkanovski’s world.
There is another clue in the background. Adesanya’s nutritionist recently shared a “full day of eating in camp,” a phrase that does not get thrown around casually. No fight has been announced, but the hints are stacking up. The body is being tuned. The engine is being warmed.
The Fight to Reinvent
Adesanya has spoken about needing “focused, individual training” at this point in his career, a clear nod to tailoring everything — sparring, game-planning, conditioning — around his specific needs rather than a broader team structure. Freestyle MMA, with Lopez steering and Volkanovski setting the standard, offers exactly that kind of environment.
The shift is not just about geography. It is about identity. The slick counterstriker who danced through title defenses now has to prove he can adapt when the aura of invincibility has gone. Four losses in a row test more than technique. They test ego, belief, and the willingness to strip things back and rebuild.
In Sydney, surrounded by a reigning champion, a hungry contender, and a mix of trusted old allies and new voices, Adesanya has chosen to fight that battle head-on.
The next opponent and date will eventually land on a poster. The real question is simpler, and far more brutal: is this the camp that turns Israel Adesanya from a fallen king into a dangerous contender again, or is it the last roll of the dice for one of the era’s defining talents?
