City Kickboxing is back to take over another UFC event, this time at UFC 281 in New York where Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker, Brad Riddell and Carlos Ulberg will all be in action. UFC 281 goes down Sunday afternoon Aotearoa time and kiwi fight fans will need to be tapped in as Ulberg starts the entire event, then Brad Riddell is the last fight before the pay-per-view begins. Hooker starts the main card and Adesanya headlines the event.

A hefty UFC event at Madison Square Garden serves as the last major UFC card of the year and this also aligns with Team CKB putting the last few years behind them, shifting towards a fresh stanza of the CKB-UFC era. Like all of us, CKB dealt with immense niggle during the quietly racked up a few losses.

Jam our latest podcast chatting Blackcaps, Aotearoa Kiwis, UFC 281, Football Ferns and Wellington Phoenix

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There is plenty of story-telling juice in the Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira match up. Pereira has two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing and has been lurking in the shadows waiting for this opportunity. Adesanya has gone 12-0 in the UFC's middleweight division and Pereira stacked up three consecutive wins upon entering the UFC to put himself in this position.

Pereira is a talented striker with power and precision. He might be the best opponent Adesanya has faced in his UFC career and the battle between their world-class striking makes this mandatory viewing. Adesanya may even flex some of his grappling as he has ample experience in the UFC fighting superior grapplers, allowing him to develop that craft and showcasing high quality takedown defence.

The yarn behind this Adesanya vs Pereira match up is clear for everyone to enjoy, but there is a deeper layer of intrigue with Team CKB. Adesanya and Ulberg are the only CKB fighters coming off a win in their last bout, with Ulberg bouncing back for two wins this year after a loss in his debut.

Kai Kara-France grabbed three consecutive wins before his second loss to Brandon Moreno, while Hooker and Riddell are both coming off two losses. Shane Young also has consecutive losses and last fought in March 2021. Blood Diamond made his UFC debut earlier this year and his first two fights have been two losses.

Here's how Team CKB performed since March 2020...

Israel Adesanya: WWLWWW (5-1)
Kai Kara-France: LWWWL (3-2)
Dan Hooker: LLWLL (1-4)
Brad Riddell: WWLL (2-2)
Carlos Ulberg: LWW (2-1)
Shane Young: LL (0-2)
Blood Diamond: LL (0-2)

Ulberg's opponent Nicolae Negumereanu has four consecutive wins in the UFC, including a win over Kennedy Nzechukwu who defeated Ulberg. Negumereanu has a wrestling background but two of his last four wins have been finishes via striking.

Riddell is fighting Renato Moicano and Hooker fights Claudio Puelles. Like Ulberg’s fight, these fights will also be tricky and informative. Moicano offers a similar style to Riddell, while Hooker's opponent Puelles has two finishes by submission in his last two fights.

And culture.

Everyone loves to chat about culture, without knowing how to develop a team culture. Here are some observations about City Kickboxing's team culture#KiwiUFC #UFC https://t.co/zgenR65dGa
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) June 6, 2020

All of Riddell's UFC wins are via decision and his two losses were finishes. Hooker has lost four of his last five fights and his last two wins came via decision, while three of his four losses were finishes. As fun as these fights could be, none of this suggests that Riddell or Hooker are in fabulous form.

Lead coach Eugene Bareman laid out an immensely Aotearoa culture vibe in sharing CKB's preparations for this event. This CKB culture helped them wiggle through the pandemic phase without fuss, rolling through all sorts of adversity like hearty kiwis. That's all over and CKB kaumatua (Bareman and coaches) have elevated their intensity in preparation for this new stanza of the CKB-UFC era.