UFC Tampa: Covington vs. Buckley closes out 2024 with a stacked card, featuring rising star Navajo Stirling. Stirling credits Israel Adesanya for inspiring his impressive UFC debut.
Rising Star Navajo Stirling Reflects on His ‘Izzy’ Comparisons and Training at City Kickboxing
One of the standout fighters from season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series was New Zealand’s own Navajo Stirling. After scoring a brutal second-round knockout in September, Stirling quickly found himself being compared to Israel Adesanya.
Some fans had even joked that the 5-0 Kiwi should adopt the nickname “The White Izzy” something that Stirling is considering as a huge compliment. Stirling admitted this in an interview with David Adesnaya, who is the brother of the former champion. This was when Stirling said;
“I definitely see the comparison in some of the styles and stylistic moves,” Stirling admitted in an interview with David Adesanya, the brother of the former champion.
“When I was growing up, before I even knew anything about fighting, I was watching Israel Adesanya for a long time—before he even knew who I was. I was stealing as many of his moves as I could from all the fights I watched.
“I’ve watched almost every one of his fights on YouTube. Plus, training at the gym with Eugene, learning the moves directly from him, not just my own interpretation.”
Now training at City Kickboxing under the guidance of both Adesanya and his legendary coach Eugene Bareman, the 5-0 prospect takes every opportunity to learn from the iconic duo.
“It’s a great relationship,” Stirling said. “He’s obviously the big brother at the gym and has been at the forefront of City Kickboxing for a long time now. For me, he’s been my idol for so long.”
“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.”
UFC Fight Night: Stirling Set to Shine Against Tuco Tokkos on Stacked Tampa Card
The UFC clearly sees potential in Navajo Stirling. This is evidenced by his placement on the main card for this weekend’s Fight Night event in Tampa, Florida. This is when he faces Tuco Tokkos.
While Tokkos holds a respectable 10-4 record, his UFC debut in May was far from impressive. This was due to being submitted by Oumar Sy in the opening minutes of round one.
While not a ‘layup,’ Stirling is heavily favored, with 95% of Tapology Community Picks backing the City Kickboxing fighter.
Stirling vs. Tokkos is part of a stacked main card, which includes:
- 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 takes place live from Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, December 14.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
