Israel Adesanya Begins New Chapter at Freestyle MMA in Sydney

Israel Adesanya has quietly walked into a new chapter of his career, and it starts on the mats of a Sydney gym.

The former UFC middleweight champion has linked up with Freestyle MMA Performance Centre, the Australian base of featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, in what shapes as the most significant move of his career since he first rose to the belt.

A New Home in Sydney

Footage released through Engage, the combat sports brand co-owned by Adesanya and Volkanovski, shows Adesanya arriving at the Freestyle facility, gloves in hand, stepping into a room that already hums with championship energy.

Another clip, this time from Mauricio Ruffy’s social media, goes a step further. It shows the Brazilian lightweight prospect drilling alongside Adesanya, confirming that the former champion isn’t just visiting Australia — he’s working.

Freestyle MMA, run by long-time Volkanovski coach Joe Lopez, now looks like Adesanya’s primary base, at least for the coming months. The footage from the gym also reveals familiar faces from Thailand’s Bangtao MMA: recently retired UFC fighter Brad Riddell and coach George Hickman are on the mats, appearing to take on coaching duties as this new alliance takes shape.

It’s a blend of worlds — New Zealand, Australia, Thailand — converging around a fighter searching for a way back.

Walking Away from City Kickboxing

This Sydney move lands just two months after Adesanya’s emotional announcement that he was leaving City Kickboxing, the Auckland team where he became a global star and UFC champion. He broke the news on his YouTube channel, framing it as a necessary reset 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 at the time.

The numbers underline the urgency. Adesanya is trying to halt a four-fight losing streak. His last win came in April 2023, when he spectacularly knocked out Alex Pereira at UFC 287 to reclaim the middleweight title. Since then, the slide has been steep, and his defeat to Joe Pyfer at UFC Fight Night 271 in March appears to have been the breaking point that pushed him away from his long-time home.

City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman has not tried to stand in his way. He publicly backed Adesanya’s decision, framing change as a potential spark rather than a betrayal.

"We wish Israel all the best, and it has been our honor to work with and make some contribution to his success," Bareman said in a statement to “She Loves the Gloves” on Medium, adding that Adesanya is “welcome at CKB and will always be part of our family.”

So the bridge isn’t burned. It’s simply no longer the road he’s taking.

Training Among Champions

Volkanovski and Ruffy are already deep into their own fight camps, which makes Freestyle MMA a high-intensity environment for a man trying to rebuild.

The featherweight champion is preparing to defend his title against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on October 24. Ruffy, one of the division’s rising threats at lightweight, is gearing up for what could effectively be a No. 1 contender bout against Arman Tsarukyan in the co-main event of UFC 331 on September 19.

Those are serious stakes. Serious rounds. Exactly the kind of furnace a former champion might choose to walk into if he wants to find out what he still has.

Adesanya’s presence adds a new layer to those camps. He isn’t the centrepiece right now, but he is the wild card — a former king moving in the shadows of two men chasing or defending their own climbs. His nutritionist has already posted about a “full day of eating in camp,” a small but telling detail that has fuelled speculation that Adesanya’s own fight news may not be far away.

Bridging Two Worlds

Volkanovski has long been a frequent visitor to City Kickboxing, blending his Australian base with the famed Auckland room where Adesanya made his name. Now the current champion and the former champion are working side by side on Volkanovski’s home turf, effectively reversing the old dynamic and knitting the two camps together in a different way.

For Adesanya, this isn’t just about changing scenery. He has spoken about needing “focused, individual training” at this point in his career, a more tailored approach as he tries to arrest his decline and retool his game.

Freestyle MMA, with Lopez at the helm, Volkanovski setting the standard, Ruffy chasing his breakthrough, and Bangtao’s coaches adding their expertise, offers a new ecosystem. Different voices. Different looks. The kind of environment that can either expose a fighter who’s fading or sharpen one who’s not done yet.

Adesanya has already lived the rise. Now he’s deep in the uncomfortable part of a great fighter’s story — the part where the questions are louder than the cheers.

Sydney is where he’s chosen to answer them.