In 2019, City Kickboxing grabbed a couple UFC Championships and along with the likes of Dan Hooker sealing his spot among the best lightweights and Brad Riddell blasting his way into the UFC lightweight division, many viewed CKB as the 2019 team of the year. Not bad for a typically kiwi team and while the intention from CKB would have been to hit a nek level in 2020, CKB did so emphatically in a year that chucked all sorts of logistical niggle their way.

There's minimal chance that a CKB fighter grabs another UFC bout this year, although there is a doosra delivered into this mix with Riddell, Israel Adesanya and Carlos Ulberg currently stuck in United States of America. Riddell is essentially a fighter and a coach having already cornered numerous UFC/CKB fights and Adesanya's a wizard, so with Eugene Bareman putting his boxing duties first with Junior Fa, Riddell and Adesanya hit up Las Vegas with Ulberg for the Dana White Contender Series. Ulberg won his fight in destructive fashion and CKB has another UFC fighter.

Unfortunately, there are complications with re-entering Aotearoa for these three. In true hearty kiwi styles, the three have made the most of their time already and done a bunch of training with Atos Jiu-Jitsu in San Diego - Atos and CKB have a lovely relationship, similar to Tiger Muay Thai (Thailand) and CKB. That's why Adesanya has also picked up the commentary gig for Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones jr and if you're sniffing around for a bit of inspiration, the ability to accept a situation and put your best foot forward is on display with what Adesanya, Riddell and Ulberg are up to.

Israel Adesanya, UFC fighter middleweight Champion, comes to train at Atos HQ. Check out this highlight of him training with Jiu-Jitsu World Champions. SUBSC...

Swing back around to Aotearoa and the Joseph Parker vs Junior Fa bout has been postponed due to some health issues for Fa. Keep in mind that CKB has a comprehensive boxing operation at their gym and they are as much about boxing with Fa, Hemi Aiho (among others) and coach Doug Viney as they are about Mixed Martial Arts. Depending on your vibe, you may find it amazing that CKB is definitely the best MMA team in Aotearoa and may be the best boxing team in Aotearoa as well.

Living deep in the CKB mangroves, I've soaked up all the CKB mana and that leaves me in the CKB/Fa camp when pondering these ongoing matters between Team Fa and Team Parker. Having seen and heard so much from coach Bareman over the past few years, knowing that the relationship between CKB and the UFC is extremely healthy due to Bareman, Viney, Mike Angove etc. From that, I have a different perspective on Bareman's media antics and I'd suggest that when you see Bareman headlines, absorb it knowing that Bareman has been crucial in working with the UFC for the entire CKB team.

Eugene Bareman answers the scorn and disrespect Kevin Barry gave to the choice of opponent for Junior Fa All the best New Zealand Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA ...

Bareman won't talk shit for no reason. His recent niggle again highlights an ongoing narrative of Team Parker being the big donnies, looking down upon Team Fa and Team Parker are using what they have learned in playing second fiddle to boxing opponents/promotors as leverage against Team Fa. This was already brewing prior to Bareman's recent remarks and the video below is from a few years back, making this far more enticing than the already bonkers idea of two South Aucklanders, one Samoan and the other Tongan, headlining a heavyweight bout in Aotearoa.

Think of all CKB has done this year, after being the best team in 2019 and sprinkle the funk of that boxing bout on top. Bareman's journey through 2020 speaks volumes here as he has made multiple trips overseas, endless hours of quarantine and then Bareman caps it off with helping Fa. We've now got to wait for Fa to step into the ring and this may work out well if 2021 starts with Fa having his bout, among the early 2021 UFC action.

Take a moment to soak up these takedown defence numbers below, in the context of striking (boxing, kickboxing etc) being part of Aotearoa's sporting culture for a long time. Some countries have wrestling ingrained in their sports culture, some have jiu-jitsu and in some countries grappling is a way of life. In Aotearoa, CKB is a creation of our long history in striking and that's why CKB has taken over striking in the UFC ... but you can only win fights in the UFC with high quality defensive grappling at the very least.

Shane Young: 64 %

Israel Adesanya: 86 %.

Brad Riddell: 60 %.

Dan Hooker: 79 %.

Kai Kara-France: 90 %.

That translates to all of CKB's UFC fighters snuffing at least 50 percent of takedown attempts against them. Take Adesanya as an example given that he is known to have the best striking in the world, perhaps even revolutionising striking in the UFC and he also defends 86 percent of takedown attempts from his opponent. That's CKB and then ponder that Adesanya, Riddell and Ulberg are currently in a jiu-jitsu hibernation stuck in USA.

Adesayna has a fight penciled in for early-ish next year, moving up a weight division to fight light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. This is a key move in bumping up Adesanya's star power internationally as it sets the path for Adesanya to compete in the light-heavyweight division, plus possibly moving up to the heavyweight division, strapped with his middleweight belt.

Keep in mind that Adesanya has fought in the heavyweight version of King in the Ring, as well as competing in a light-heavyweight Super 8 Boxing Tournament where he defeated a previous opponent of Parker in Brian Minto. All of that is at a grassroots level in Aotearoa, but sets the scene for pondering the perils of moving up a division, or multiple divisions.

Low key important here is what is waiting for Adesanya in the middleweight division as well as noting that Adesanya has stated a desire to defend his belt frequently and keep things flowing in that division. Robert Whittaker deserves another crack, plus there are more fun options in Darren Till or Jack Hermansson depending on what conspires in the next few months.

Simply put: Adesanya is blazing a path up divisions and there will be a return to middleweight, maybe all of that happens in 2021.

Dan Hooker is the other key bloke to watch out for in the coming weeks/months as he could get a crack at Justin Gaethje or Michael Chandler. Tony Ferguson appears set to fight Charles Oliveira who is ranked around Hooker, opening the door for Hooker to possibly get an epic fight against the higher ranked Gaethje or Chandler who enters the UFC as one of the best lightweights in the world. Hooker's last fight was a loss to Dustin Poirier earlier this year with Poirier now set to fight Conor McGregor.

Another recent opponent of Hooker's in Paul Felder pounced at his opportunity for a fight against Rafael dos Anjos, both of them could be options for Hooker and this presents an intriguing juncture for Hooker; does he get a higher ranked opponent or does Hooker take up a fight against one of those ranked around Hooker?

Riddell is also in the lightweight division and while Hooker's next match up is fascinating, Riddell has three wins from three UFC fights and will definitely get a higher ranked opponent. RankingMMA has Hooker ranked 6th and Riddell ranked 34th, making Riddell's next fight crucial in his path into the lightweight top-10.

Kai Kara-France and Shane Young both suffered defeats in their last fights and they just need fights against anyone. Kara-France lost to Brandon Royval this year and Brandon Moreno in 2019, with those two fighting each other this past weekend and that was important in viewing Kara-France as it was clear that they are two of the best flyweights going around. For both Kara-France and Young, they will be zoned in on fighting asap and that will likely see them, along with Riddell, bolster any upcoming card where Adesanya or Hooker is the headliner.

As for Ulberg, he needs a fight in the light-heavyweight division to get things started.

Today's video takes us back to Vegas for Carlos Ulberg's fight on Dana White Contender Series. We were 1.5 weeks out of quarantine following UFC 253 when Car...

CKB's Australian homie Alexander Volkanovski will likely fight Brian Ortega, possibly in that opening window of next year. Adesanya and Volkanovski will definitely headline their events as champions, while Hooker will hope to headline but may have to get in where he fits in. Perhaps this whole next cluster of fights all come via the same event, maybe the CKB camp is split between two events.

As there were no UFC fights locked in other than Ulberg's DWCS fight, coach Bareman opted to take that time and invest in Fa's bout. With Parker vs Fa now pushed back, this may clutter the CKB calendar in the first few months of 2021, however given what we've seen in the past two years from CKB, such shenanigans can be a platform for reaching the nek level and doubling down on the best combat sports team in the world.

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Peace and love.