Israel Adesanya Says New Training Setup Has Him Feeling Best in Years Before Shara Magomedov Fight
After four straight defeats, Adesanya says his first camp since leaving City Kickboxing has been his most enjoyable in years.
Israel Adesanya has changed the environment around his comeback, and he believes the difference is already showing in training. After four consecutive defeats, the former two-time UFC middleweight champion says his first preparation period since leaving City Kickboxing has been the most enjoyable he has had in years. The test comes against Shara Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia later this year.
That confidence carries weight because Adesanya’s recent results have left little room for easy optimism. He has not won since April 2023, when he knocked out Alex Pereira to regain the middleweight title. Since then, he has been outpointed by Sean Strickland, submitted by Dricus du Plessis, knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov and stopped by Joe Pyfer.
A camp built around Adesanya
Adesanya left the Auckland-based City Kickboxing gym after his March defeat to Pyfer. CKB had provided an established setting alongside other UFC fighters and developing prospects. His new team gives him a chance to shape preparation around his own needs, rather than working inside the routines of a large, existing gym.
That change is the most concrete detail Adesanya has offered about the shift: he is building a team with a specific focus on him. He has not described particular technical adjustments or named the people involved, so the value of the new approach will ultimately be judged in the cage. For now, his report is about how the preparation feels—and he says the difference is striking.
“Training camp has been awesome,” Adesanya said in a recent video on his YouTube channel. He acknowledged that fighters often describe a new preparation period as their best, then added that leaving CKB and building a team around himself made the praise feel true in this case. He said he has felt this good in a very long time.
He also described the work as the most fun he has had in years, comparing it with the period around Pereira’s time in New York in 2022. “That’s going to show on fight night,” he said. The remark sets a clear expectation: Adesanya believes the fresh setting can translate into a visible change when he competes.
The result has to validate the change
A better-feeling preparation period can matter to a fighter, but it cannot settle the questions raised by four losses in a row. Adesanya’s past results span different kinds of defeats: he lost a decision, was submitted, and was finished by strikes twice. That record makes the Magomedov bout a meaningful measure of whether a reset in routine can help him return to winning form.
His choice to build a more individualized setup also gives this return an added personal stake. Adesanya is not simply heading back after a difficult run; he has made a major change to how he prepares and is publicly backing it. If he wins, the result would offer a strong first sign that the new arrangement suits him. A loss would leave the team change looking like an incomplete answer to the problems his recent opponents exposed.
Magomedov presents a chance for Adesanya to halt the slide, though the source of that opportunity is not a guaranteed stylistic advantage. Magomedov has yet to convince a broad audience that he belongs near the top of the middleweight division, and he has lost to Michael “Venom” Page, a fighter described as similar in style. That comparison may shape how fans view the matchup, but it does not decide what happens against Adesanya.
The pressure around the bout is broader than one result. Some fans have already urged Adesanya to retire, and another defeat would intensify those calls. A win, by contrast, would give the former champion the first victory of this stretch and a platform to show that he can still compete at a high level. The fight therefore tests both the new preparation and the career direction Adesanya is choosing.
Adesanya has said the new team has made training enjoyable again and left him feeling better than he has in years. That is a promising starting point, but the lasting verdict will come against Magomedov: whether the change produces the performance and result needed to move him beyond four straight defeats.
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Adesanya’s remarks make clear that he believes the new environment has improved his experience in the build-up. The Magomedov fight will show whether that renewed enjoyment can carry into the result he needs.
