From the outside looking in, competing in the UFC is a solo endeavour – but dig a little deeper and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Undefeated light-heavyweight contender, Navajo Stirling, is just the latest star to emerge from the world-renowned City Kickboxing gym in Auckland.
Navajo Stirling is on his way to the top of the UFC. Getty
After discovering his passion for mixed martial arts by watching Conor McGregor’s rise more than a decade ago, Stirling has turned an unlikely dream into a highly promising career, based around “training harder than anyone” and dominating the local scene before getting signed to the UFC two years ago.
The 28-year-old is walking the same path forged by Israel Adesanya and now appears to be on his own road towards UFC championship gold.
But before he can get there, Stirling has some hurdles to jump.
The first comes this weekend when he meets former champ Jan Blachowicz, one of the most accomplished and respected veterans in the 205-pound division.
Taking the bout against Blachowicz on short notice allows the Kiwi rising star a chance to catapult himself straight into the division’s upper-echelon, while also silencing the detractors who believe he’s not ready for the big time yet.
“It’s gonna send me right to the top of the division,” Stirling told nine.com.au this week before his fight on Sunday morning (AEST) in Belgrade, Serbia.
“He [Blachowicz] is a stud man, he’s been operating at the top of the game for years and I think he debuted in the UFC when I was still in high school, so it’s a pretty crazy moment for me to get in there with him, I never thought I would.
“The argument around me has always been, how good is this guy? People ask ‘is this too soon’ and I keep pulling through and using my fights to gain experience.
“Everyone has been looking for five-star, flawless performances since I’ve joined the UFC and when it hasn’t been that, they’ve kinda gone back to the drawing board and asking, is this guy even that good?
“People who have followed my career know the way I’ve set everything up, building myself for the long run and not just instant victories and dopamine hits.
“I think I’ve done the right thing developing myself and now I get to put it all on display for the biggest fight of my life against a top-five opponent and former champion and I believe I’m ready, because of the way I’ve carried myself.”
The second hurdle for Stirling en route to the UFC light-heavyweight title is due to the fact the man holding it, Carlos Ulberg, is actually his training partner.
Also in the same weight class is Robert Whittaker, another fighter who spends time at City Kickboxing and has already gone on the record to say he wouldn’t look to face Ulberg, forgoing a potential shot at the title if it arose.
Asked if he held the same stance about fighting Ulberg – or Whittaker, for that matter – Stirling doubled down and claims he is in “no rush” to achieve his goal and is happy to wait for the more experienced pair to exit the scene.
“Yeah, for sure [I feel the same] – the thing is, they’re in the later years of their careers and I can help them be the best they can be and they’re obviously helping me do that too,” the unbeaten 10-0 fighter explained.
“My time will come, there’s no rush. I’m sure when that title slot opens up, I’ll be able to slide right in comfortably. We don’t really think about it that much.
“I know my relationship with the boys is sweet, I’ve got no animosity and my ambitions don’t trump theirs and vice versa.”
The bond between teammates runs deep at City Kickboxing, headed up by lead trainer Eugene Bareman, who has developed some elite fighters.
At the top of the list is Adesanya, who has since left the gym in the twilight of his career, as well as Ulberg, Dan Hooker and Tyson Pedro.
Whittaker and fellow Aussie star Alexander Volkanovski have also spent time honing their craft at the gym, taking the ‘iron sharpens iron’ approach.
And for the bleached blonde-haired Stirling, he wants to take the “blueprint” and keep the ball rolling for the next generation of fighters.
Navajo Stirling lands a brutal body shot on Ion Cutelaba. Getty
“They paved the way and when I was coming up in Wellington, I was watching a lot of their footage and what they did as a team,” Stirling explained.
“I tried to emulate a lot of their stuff on my own, I was very self-sufficient and self-taught at the beginning of my career. Once I had done all that I could on my own, I knew it was time to join them and met Eugene and told him my goals and he told me that he could get me to the UFC – all I had to do was show up.
“I packed my bags and moved there and have been following the blueprint of all the fighters who have laid it out for me. They’ve even laid it out to the point where I didn’t have to go through any of the potholes they went through.
“When I got the call to be in Dana White’s Contender Series, which was my call-up to the UFC, I knew all I needed was that foot in the door and I didn’t care who it was, I knew I was gonna win. The first person I called was my dad and he was over the moon, screaming to the rooftops like we had just won a million dollars.
“I’ve got to speed run everything and become the best fighter possible and now I’m sort of paving the way for other young Kiwis and Aussies.
“I realise the blessing and position I have, and I want to share that with everyone. I think about ways that I can do that as much as I can, especially being from New Zealand – there’s not a lot going on and not a lot of people to look up to.
“I try to show everyone that I’m one of them, I made myself from absolutely nothing. I came from a blue-collar working family, I wasn’t a standout student and didn’t go to any flash school. I try to show people that I made myself from this.”
Stirling and Blachowicz act as the co-main event on the UFC Fight Night, headlined by a welterweight clash between Uroš Medić and Daniel Rodriguez.
