When Israel Adesanya is on the mats at City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand he’s no different to the other martial artists that he’s sharing the space with.
That being said, having a major name in the sport be the leading figure for this stable of fighters does bring some added spotlight to the rest of the team.
We’ve seen in the past how “The Last Stylebender” has been able to transfer some of his shine onto his teammates, with a strong City Kickboxing representation on the UFC roster.
In just a few weeks, another fighter from the gym will look to join the likes of Adesanya, Dan Hooker, Kai Kara-France and Carlos Ulberg when he fights for his place on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Interestingly, Navajo Stirling is happy to do things by himself instead of expecting a leg-up from Adesanya.
Navajo Stirling Recalls Telling Israel Adesanya That He Doesn’t Need To Feel Like He Has To Help Him
With four pro wins under his belt in MMA following a career in kickboxing & Muay Thai, Stirling will compete on week five of this year’s Contender Series.
He will face American light heavyweight Phillip Latu at the Apex next week, where a big performance will see him become an exciting addition at 205 pounds.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Stirling spoke about the benefit of having major UFC names in the same gym as him and whether he’s been able to use their experience and advice to his advantage.
He said that rather than using the profile of his training partners to help accelerate his own career, the 26-year-old wants to see where this journey takes him.
Stirling stated that while he appreciates the support he receives from the likes of the former UFC middleweight champion, he doesn’t want him to feel like he has any responsibility over his career.
He talks to me like I already know what I’m talking about and I just said to him, you know, I think I was just like, because obviously he’s big and he can do a lot for his teammates by bringing them up as well, but I just said to him like he doesn’t, don’t feel like you have to do anything like I want to do it my way, you know. That’s what I said to him, I want to do it my way and I want to make a name for myself. I don’t really need the help, although I appreciate it, I appreciate it for sure, I’m not saying like don’t do it but I said don’t feel like you need to, you know. Don’t feel like there’s pressure on you to bring your teammates up or whatever. I’ll just do it myself and he was just like, ‘You’re the man for that, that’s cool as.'
Read also: Video: Israel Adesanya Confronts Aggressive Man, Urges Him to ‘Walk Away’ in Tense Altercation
