In the upcoming Eternal MMA 83 Middleweight Title showdown, the contender, Ben Johnston (4-1) and champion John Martin Fraser (7-3) , share more than just a common stage.
Notably, Martin-Fraser, who trains out of the 'Australian MMA '2023 Team of the Year' Dunstan Death Squad, in the Sunshine Coast, has recently undergone training sessions with none other than the former UFC 185lb champion Robert Whittaker. Whittaker trains out of the acclaimed 'Gracie Jiu Jitsu Smeaton Grange' in Sydney with other noteable UFC fighter, Jacob Malkoun and One FC's Isi Fitikefu.
Meanwhile, just a mere 2000km away, at the very same time, challenger Ben Johnston, originally from 'The Fight Centre' in Brisbane, is taking another routine visit to the land of the long white cloud to train out of the legendary 'City Kickboxing' in Auckland, New Zealnd, under the great Eugene Bareman. CKB is also home to the former 2-time UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya.
Adesanya & Whittaker had an extensive rivalry with 2 title fights taking place in the UFC from 2019-2022 (UFC 243 & UFC 271) and has been highly regarded as the one of the greatest rivalries in Oceania combat history, despite 'The Last Stylebender' walking away with two victories.
Ben Johnston's extensive collaboration as a longtime training partner with the renowned Israel Adesanya has even led Johnston being invited to emulate Alex Pereira in preparation for a title rematch (UFC 287) that earned a victory and reclamation of the title by Adesanya. *click here to see the video*
These poetic matchings, either by chance or design, breed just another exciting angle to the already electrifying match up scheduled for March 16th, in the Gold Coast by Eternal MMA.
Not to mention if you're a betting man, team Deathsquad & CKB has done battle 7 times with 'Dunstan Deathsquad' walking away with 4 victoories...
For more on Eternal MMA 83 visit: www.eternalmma.com
