Brett Okamoto
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- Brett Okamoto has covered mixed martial arts and boxing for ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and reporting with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He also produced the film 30 for 30: Chuck & Tito, which chronicled the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas and is an avid below-average golfer in his spare time.
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Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya announced Thursday that he is leaving longtime head coach Eugene Bareman and City Kickboxing.
The change, announced by Adesanya on his YouTube channel, comes amid a career-worst four-fight losing streak. He last suffered a knockout loss to Joe Pifer in March.
“I spoke to Eugene personally and told him I would not be returning to CKB,” Adesanya said. “It was something that stayed behind the scenes for a long time. We have an understanding. I won’t lie, it sucks. … Grief comes in waves for me and most people who have grieved before. I’ve had great days, but I’ve also had days where I’m like, “Damn.”
“It’s bittersweet, but it’s the right thing for me, especially at this point in my career. This is exactly what I needed. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”
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Adesanya, 36, thanked several members of New Zealand’s City Kickboxing gym by name. He did not clarify his plans for future training and did not schedule a fight.
Adesanya (24-6) and Bareman have been considered one of the closest and most successful fighter-trainer combinations in the sport for several years. They rose to the top of the sport in 2019 when Adesanya captured the UFC middleweight title. He defended the belt six times before losing to Alex Pereira in 2022. He briefly regained the belt in 2023 before losing it again to Sean Strickland.
“CKB molded me into the fighter I am today,” Adesanya said. “They raised a lot of great fighters, even better than me. I was one of the main pillars that brought CKB onto the world stage to take it to the next level where people from all over the world want to train at CKB. I’m proud of it.”