4 hours Ago By Tom Llewellyn
The final card of the year, UFC Tampa: Covington vs Buckley, is a surprisingly stacked way to round out 2024 – with a host of well-known names and newcomers getting a Floridian feature. One of those promotional newcomers who fans should keep an eye on is light heavyweight prospect Navajo Stirling, who credits ‘The Last Stylebender’ for his fabulous entry into the UFC. Navajo Stirling reveals how Israel Adesanya has influenced his MMA career One of the standout fighters from season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series was New Zealand’s own Navajo Stirling, who after scoring a brutal second-round knockout in September, found himself being compared to Israel Adesanya .
Some fans even joked that the 5-0 Kiwi should make his nickname “ The White Izzy ” – something that Stirling views as a major achievement in and of itself. “I definitely see the comparison in some of the styles [and] stylistic moves,” acknowledged Stirling in an interview with David Adesanya, brother of the former champion. “When I grew up, when I didn’t know anything about fighting, I grew up watching Israel Adesanya [for] a long time, before he even knew me.
.. I was stealing all of his moves; I took as many moves as I could from all of the fights that I could watch.
“I’ve pretty much watched every fight that he’s had on YouTube. As well as training at the gym with Eugene, personally showing me the moves, not just my own interpretation of it.” Stirling now trains at City Kickboxing under the watchful eye of both Adesanya and his legendary coach Eugene Bareman, with the 5-0 protégé taking every lesson he can from the iconic duo.
OUCH : Mixed response from MMA fanbase to new team-based promotion set to launch in 2025 “Yeah, it’s good [relationships], he’s obviously the big bro at the gym, he’s been at the forefront for City Kickboxing for a long time now, and for me, he’s been my idol for such a long time. “I’ve watched him very closely, the way he portrays his emotions and himself, I’ve always found him to be one of the most interesting people that I’ve ever come across – I’ve never met anybody quite like him. “I just try to copy what I can and essentially make them into my own,” teased the popular newcomer, who is already keen to pass on his knowledge to the next generation of CKB superstars.
“All of the advice he’s given me through the years, he’s a really good role model for me and all our other teammates...
. Especially with me being the youngest of the team coming through, I’m like the middle child at the gym, the leader of the young guys. “I only hope to help someone else, the next Navajo under me.
” ROAD RAGE : Israel Adesanya breaks silence on viral video in which he spat on confrontational fan Navajo Stirling returns to action at UFC Tampa against Tuco Tokkos The UFC obviously sees potential in Navajo Stirling, otherwise, they wouldn’t have put his fight versus Tuco Tokkos on the main card of this weekend’s Fight Night event in Tampa, Florida. Tukkos might have a positive professional record at 10-4, but his UFC debut back in May was anything but impressive; submitted by Oumar Sy inside the first few minutes of round one. Whilst we’d be cautious about labeling this fight as a ‘layup’ for Stirling, the New Zealander is expected to make short work of the British 205lber, with around 95% of the Tapology Community Picks going in favor of the CKB student.
Stirling vs Tokkos kicks off a stacked main card. Colby Covington vs Joaquin Buckley Manel Kape vs Bruno Silva Cub Swanson vs Billy Quarantillo Dustin Jacoby vs Vitor Petrino Daniel Marcos vs Adrian Yanez Navajo Stirling vs Tuco Tokkos UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Buckley goes down live from Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, December 14. EXPLAINED : Alex Pereira’s former kickboxing rival scolds Jamahal Hill for ‘dangerous move’ after UFC PI altercation.
