Israel Adesanya hails Navajo Stirling, dissects much-awaited UFC Belgrade fight with Jan Blachowicz

Navajo Stirling has received words of high praise from combat sports great, fellow kickboxing veteran and UFC fighter Israel Adesanya. 

The Nigeria-born New Zealand combatant has picked Stirling to defeat former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in their 205-pound co-main event matchup at UFC Belgrade on August 1. 

Navajo Stirling is a former training partner of MMA icon Israel Adesanya, whereas Jan Blachowicz is Adesanya's old rival

Navajo Stirling trains at the world-renowned City Kickboxing (CKB) gym in Auckland, New Zealand. It's a gym that Adesanya trained at for around 16 years before he parted ways with it earlier this year. 

Incidentally, Stirling is booked to fight Jan Blachowicz in the co-headlining match of UFC Belgrade on August 1. Adesanya is no stranger to Blachowicz. 

"The Last Stylebender" was 20-0 in MMA back in March of 2021. He was also in his first reign as the UFC middleweight champion. Adesanya had moved up in weight to face the then-UFC light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz, but the Polish fighter outworked him to defend the belt via unanimous decision. "Izzy" was thereby handed his first MMA and UFC defeat. 

Fast-forward to the here and now, Adesanya has had two title reigns at middleweight, last held the belt in 2023, and is on a four-fight losing streak. Meanwhile, Blachowicz has won just one of his past five fights, with two ending in draws and two being losses. 

As for Navajo Stirling, the rising star is undefeated in MMA, with a 10-0 record. The DWCS (Dana White's Contender Series) alum made his UFC main roster debut in late 2024 and has gone 5-0 inside the octagon. The towering kickboxing savant is fresh off a TKO victory against Ion Cutelaba, whom he bested in June. 

Israel Adesanya picks Navajo Stirling to beat Jan Blachowicz at UFC Belgrade despite it being a short-notice fight for Stirling

Jan Blachowicz's most recent octagon outing saw him fight Bogdan Guskov to a majority draw last December. Their rematch was to transpire at UFC Belgrade, but an injury to Khalil Rountree Jr. resulted in Guskov being roped in to fight Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25. 

The UFC got Navajo Stirling to step in on short notice to take on Blachowicz at UFC Belgrade. Despite his not having much time to prepare specifically, a number of fight fans have asserted that the 28-year-old Kiwi is still likely to beat Blachowicz, as the Polish fighter is 43 years of age and has dealt with several injury issues in recent years. 

Taking to his official YouTube channel, Israel Adesanya, too, predicted a Navajo Stirling win at UFC Belgrade. The 37-year-old indicated that Stirling, having consistently competed in MMA bouts as of late and being a fit fighter in general, would have no issues being active in the three-round (15-minute) scheduled matchup against Blachowicz. 

"The Last Stylebender" warned, however, that Blachowicz will attempt takedowns right away, shooting for them while his opponent is punching, which is something the Stirling camp should and would be prepared for. 

Adesanya stated, "I think they'll both be throwing leg kicks. It'll be a battle of the leg kicks; who can get who first. 'Cause that'll be important. Like, if 'Nav' gets him, first two, then he's not able to place weight on it, it's gonna be a snowball effect from there."

Additionally, Adesanya appeared to lightheartedly suggest that he doesn't want to speak too much about Stirling's path to victory against Blachowicz, as he's obviously familiar with his ex-training partner and wouldn't want to end up divulging more than necessary before the fight. 

Picking Stirling to emerge victorious, Adesanya alluded to how the young fighter is often referred to by some fans as his lookalike. He said, "I'm going with my dawg, Navajo, my twin, 'Blizzy.' I just wanna see him do it all. So, yeah, go Navajo." 

Watch Israel Adesanya discuss the imminent clash between Navajo Stirling and Jan Blachowicz below: