This weekend’s pay-per-view card could mark a real showcase for the Oceanic region’s most renowned mixed martial arts gym.
UFC 293, set for the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, will see six fighters training out of New Zealand’s prominent City Kickboxing facility making the walk to the Octagon.
The team, founded and led by coach Eugene Bareman, is tasked with opening and closing Saturday’s event.
Two-division regional champion Kevin Jousset will open proceedings, with the Frenchman making his debut against fellow newcomer Kiefer Crosbie. 11 fights later, UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya will take to the cage in the headliner for the first defense of his second reign opposite Sean Strickland.
Between those two, Shane Young, Mike “Blood Diamond” Mathetha, Carlos Ulberg, and Tyson Pedro will all mark CKB standouts in action Down Under.
One of those, Bareman says, has perhaps had a trickier puzzle to crack in training.
Bareman: ‘Really Good Look’ Needed For Pedro’s Opponent
During an interview with Combat TV, Bareman looked ahead to his busy schedule at UFC 293 and the tasks that await six of his students inside Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.
When asked whether one opponent has proven particularly tough to prepare for, the Kiwi coach pointed to Pedro’s light heavyweight foe, Anton Turkalj.
“Tyson’s guy we’ve had to look at really closely,” Bareman said. “Quite often it’s like that. It’s kind of like, the unknown entities a little bit that don’t necessarily garner a lot of attention from other people. Sometimes you’ve gotta look at them closely, and you can see attributes that they have that can be troublesome, and then you’re like, ‘We need to tick that off the box, we need to tick that off the box, we need to tick that off the box.’
“So I’ve had a really good look at (Pedro’s) opponent… I mean, they all demand respect, but sometimes there’s just some (that) are a little bit more of a head-twister than others,” Bareman added.
Sweden’s Turkalj has fallen short in two difficult assignments since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, suffering a submission loss to the highly touted Jailton Almeida and a decision defeat at the hands of the undefeated Vitor Petrino.
“The Pleasure Man” will hope to enter the winner’s circle on MMA’s biggest stage for the first time by adding to the woes of Pedro, who suffered a setback on home soil this past February at UFC 284 against Modestas Bukauskas.
CKB is taking over Sydney! 🦘
This weekend is going to be one for the books!
📺📱 #UFC293 | Live Sunday | Order at https://t.co/shB938mzfl pic.twitter.com/d0EuLFMvQ6
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) September 6, 2023
- Read Also: Kevin Jousset Describes Impact Of City Kickboxing Move Ahead Of UFC 293 Debut: ‘I Got My Ass Kicked’
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