Eugene Bareman is the mastermind behind the rise and rise of UFC superstar, Israel Adesanya.  As Adesanya’s head coach he has overseen his star pupil’s transition from Kickboxing (75-5) and Boxing (5-1) to become the UFC Middleweight Champion in less than 2 years after debuting for the organisation.  Eugene also played an instrumental role in Australian Alex Volkanovski capturing the UFC Featherweight Championship in December 2019.  

UFC fighters, Lightweight contender – Dan Hooker, top 10 ranked Flyweight – Kai Kara-France and rising stars, Shane Young and Brad Riddell are all coached by Eugene as well as a host of world-ranked boxers, kickboxers and mixed martial artists who compete all around the world.  The success of his fighters has seen his gym – City Kickboxing – which he co-founded with Doug Viney in 2007, ranked as one of the best MMA gyms in the world.  

Eugene is an accomplished fighter himself having trained and competed in Muay Thai since 2001.  He is a multiple New Zealand champion in several weight classes and has fought professionally for several years. He has competed in MMA since 2006 and has achieved success in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu winning several national championships. 

Bareman was a finalist for Coach of the Year at the 2019 Halberg Awards (New Zealand Sports Awards) and was selected by MMA Junkie (part of USA Today Sports) as their 2019 ‘Coach of the Year.’

The is his story – Eugene Bareman – Indigenous 100

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