Tag: Eugene Bareman

Coach Eugene Bareman explains what went wrong in Israel Adesanya’s UFC 293 title loss

Like most watching, Coach Eugene Bareman was stunned by Israel Adesanya’s loss at UFC 293.

SYDNEY – [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] didn’t want to field questions from the media after defeat, so instead, he put his head coach [autotag]Eugene Bareman[/autotag] in his seat.

Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his UFC middleweight title in a shocking unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) Saturday night in the main event of UFC 293. After the event, the Nigerian fighter stepped into the media room to announce that he wanted to be with his friends and family, and that Bareman would offer answers on his behalf.

Bareman, head coach at City Kickboxing, was probably just as shocked with the result as the rest of the combat sports world.

“The universe does things,” Bareman said at the UFC 293 post-fight press conference. “I think Sean is a great fighter and I never thought that Sean wasn’t capable of beating Israel, but I thought if Israel performed to the fullest of his capabilities, that it would be hard for Sean.

“There was an alternate kind of universe where Israel performs his poorest or poorly where Sean could win, and I’m sitting in that universe right now. Training camp was great. I’m not going to make any excuses in regard to that. Leading up to the fight was great, sparring partners, everything. All the technical things that have to do with the camp were perfect. No excuses there.”

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Bareman is hoping the UFC books an immediate rematch between Adesanya  and Strickland, as he’s confident they can get the belt back. He already expressed his interest to UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard.

Bareman believes Adesanya wasn’t on his A-game, and is sure they can beat Strickland even if they fought immediately.

“I asked Mick if we could have the rematch next weekend,” Bareman said. “Will he grant it? I’m not sure, but I’m just very confident we can change the outcome of this fight with some minor adjustments. What I’m saying is that we couldn’t get Israel to enact our plan. There wasn’t much cohesion in the corner. You have nights like this. I think we can do the rematch tomorrow and have a good night.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.

Coach downplays Dan Hooker TKO’d by Michael Chandler: ‘One loss doesn’t mean anything’

City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman explains why he’s not dwelling on Dan Hooker’s latest setback at UFC 257.

City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman isn’t putting too much stock in his pupil, [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag]’s, loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 257.

Hooker was stopped in the first round of his lightweight bout against former Bellator champion Chandler in the co-main event this past Saturday in Abu Dhabi. The defeat put Hooker on a two-fight skid, which includes a loss to Dustin Poirier last year.

Although this is the first time Hooker has back-to-back defeats in his six-year UFC career, Bareman thinks that’s just the nature of the game when you’re part of the elite.

“Top 15 guys, nothing separates them,” Bareman said on Combat TV. “Like I said, it’s equivalent to a 100-meter sprint. Between No. 1 and No. 10, there’s less than a second difference.

“So it’s not any different in the top 10, top five of the UFC. You’re separated by nothing. On any particular day, anyone can win, anyone can be champion. It’s just how close it is. That’s just how it is at the top end.”

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That same night at UFC 257, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor was also stopped, falling short against Poirier in the main event.

Bareman like that matchup as both fighters are coming off defeats and reiterates that defeats mean very little in MMA.

“A lot has to come together for these fights to get made, but that’s definitely a possibility, so I’ll definitely put that out there,” Bareman said regarding the McGregor matchup. “Like I said, anything can happen. We obviously didn’t expect to lose, Conor didn’t expect to lose. This game is ruthless, but the flip side of it is that this isn’t boxing.

“This is the UFC, and in the UFC the best fight the best straight away. There’s no maneuvering and you have to wait five years for Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury. It’s none of that stuff. You get in the UFC, and you fight the best straight away. And for that reason, one loss doesn’t mean anything. In boxing, they put a lot more on that, but this is MMA. You’re forced to fight the best straight away. One loss for Conor, one loss for Dan, it doesn’t mean anything. Just like Conor lost before, just like Dustin lost before, just like Michael Chandler has lost before.”

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