King in the Ring: Navajo Stirling wants second title then follow City Kickboxing blueprint toward UFC

Jun 05, 2023

Around a decade ago, a promising fighter packed his life into a car and drove from Whanganui to Auckland gym City Kickboxing with minimal possessions and a monumental dream.

His name was Israel Adesanya and he would go on to become a three-time King in the Ring champion, the UFC's middleweight champion and a global sporting superstar.

Fast-forward to March this year and Navajo Stirling, already a King of the Ring champion, made an eerily similar trip from Wellington.

Crowned the 92kg King in December as a largely unknown prospect, Stirling’s not bothered about looking too far ahead but the UFC carrot is what he is hungry for.

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And he knows Jason and Arna Suttie’s eight-man elimination tournament – where fighters have to win all three fights in one night to be crowned champion – is the launching pad that kick-started the careers of UFC stars Adesanya, Dan Hooker, Brad Riddell and Carlos Ulberg.

Stirling is the favourite for Saturday night's heavyweight (100kg limit) King in the Ring at Auckland's Eventfinda Stadium despite moving up in weight and still light on experience with just 14 (12-2) fights.

The 23-year-old, only in his fourth year of fighting, left his job and his flat in Wellington with not much of a plan but a huge desire to learn and develop.

“I'm a minimalist, I don't have that many things so it was mostly my clothes and that which I threw into the car and then pumped it up with gas,” Stirling told Stuff.

His gym in Wellington, The Lion Pit, donated money to keep Stirling on his feet until he quickly found work as a storeman and a place to call home.

He trains in the morning before working at night and there's not much time for anything else. That's a sacrifice Stirling's willing to make to work with some of the world's best at City Kickboxing.

He was just a teenager when King in the Ring veteran and fellow Wellingtonian Nato Laauli – who is back in the 100kg draw on Saturday night – was fighting in the finals.

"I remember watching it with my dad and he was like 'you've got to get through that guy to win it' and it seemed like a bit of a fairytale at the time," Stirling, who defeated Laauli via unanimous decision in the 92kg final, said.

His proud parents will be in the crowd to watch him on Saturday as the slick and powerful striker edges closer to his end goal.

When he was watching the rise of MMA superstar Conor McGregor and first started dreaming of fighting in the UFC, Stirling kept the goal to himself because he thought it was embarrassing to tell people, it seemed too far-fetched.

Being crowned the 92kg King in the Ring champion was the highlight of Stirling's career, but this time he's the favourite and very much the hunted, not the hunter.

"To me, it was always like if you can win that, you are the current number one in that division in the country."

Two-time and two-weight winners are few and far between.

"There's only a shortlist of people who have done that so if I could pull that off at the age of 23 that would be a huge thing.

"I want to staple my name in history, I want to be a household name,” Stirling said.

But expectation is all white noise for Stirling.

"I try to block that stuff out,” he said. “I do it for me, that's why I do it, I'm proving something to myself so that helps me get through the pressure."

A self-described competitor, Stirling dabbled in rugby, league, volleyball and basketball at Upper Hutt College but fighting always intrigued him.

The competitor in him was attracted to the one-on-one combat where he was solely responsible for his own outcomes.

His first kick-boxing fight came in 2017, Stirling was instantly hooked.

Four years later he proudly watched his teammates Riddell and Adesanya score more wins at UFC 263 last weekend and it makes Stirling's dreams seem that little bit closer.

"I'm rubbing shoulders with these guys and it lets me know that I can be there too.

“They're right in front of me, doing it, they're living the dream," Stirling said. "It's inspiring not just for me but for everyone."

Stirling hopes to make his MMA debut within the coming months but wants to follow his gym’s blueprint of racking up an extensive kick-boxing record and is happy to leave his direction up to his world-class coaches.

The only feeling that matches a victory is igniting a flame in others to follow their dreams and Stirling has already had that impact on young fighters.

"Hopefully I can inspire other young Kiwis out there that they can do it too.”

AT A GLANCE

King in the Ring heavyweight (100kg limit)

7pm Saturday, Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland

Eight-man elimination tournament: Navajo Stirling, Nato La'auli, Epe Kaihau, Eli Taito, Rini Le Comte Joel Martin, Pane Haraki, James Craughwell.