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Israel Adesanya was in Las Vegas cornering his fellow City Kickboxing fighter Carlos Ulberg at Dana White's Contender Series, along with another teammate Brad Riddell.
Their camp went successfully, as Carlos Ulberg ended up with a UFC contract after knocking out Bruno Oliveira in first round.
However, it has been nearly two weeks since the fight and they still have not managed to come back to New Zealand. The new Isolation Voucher System is responsible for this.
Israel Adesanya's coach explains why the team is stuck in the US
New Zealand-bound airlines are not allowed to let a passenger board the flight if they do not have a travel voucher.
But when this system was put into place, Israel Adesanya and Co. were already abroad at the UFC Fight Island - they had no knowledge of this new requirement, and neither did the UFC.
Israel Adesanya's coach and City Kickboxing Founder Eugene Bareman told Submission Radio what exactly happened.
"So what exactly happened is that they fell into a funny place where they booked the flights to the states or UFC booked flights to the states and back again outside of the time when this new voucher system came in. With this new voucher system, you need a voucher on the same date, that allows you to come into the country on the same day as your flight. So, UFC wasn't aware of the system and we weren't aware of the system. The system came in when we were actually in Fight Island, and we just got caught out a little bit to be honest, and unfortunately, there's no vouchers available to come into the country until the 11th of December."
However, Bareman thinks the time is not going to waste. Israel Adesanya is now training at Atos Jiu-Jitsu HQ in San Diego, which in Bareman's opinion is "the most successful Jiu-Jitsu club in the world at the moment", per Stuff.co.nz.
Bareman previously said that they had an affiliation with Atos Jiu-Jitsu, where there is a very safe training environment. He added that the club was happy to accommodate UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya and his two teammates.
Bareman thinks this might turn out to be a boon in the form of a curse, because the training at Atos is keeping them fit and in shape, as opposed to the "holiday mode" they might have been in back home. The training would certainly come in handy if Israel Adesanya is to face Light Heavyweight Champion and Jiu-Jitsu expert Jan Blachowicz next.
"In terms of the preparation night, they're going to be back with still plenty of time for us to prepare for any upcoming fights. If anything at the moment they're at one of the best jiu-jitsu clubs in the world training their a*s off which is probably something they wouldn't be doing if they were back home. They'd probably be in a little more of a holiday mode, so to speak. If anything it's probably helping us."
Israel Adesanya has been posting videos of him honing his BJJ and grappling skills at Atos on social media.
What is NZ's new travel voucher system?
Every country around the world has been forced to come up with new rules and regulations, often overnight, to fight the battle against COVID-19.
Israel Adesanya's home country New Zealand now requires individuals traveling to the country to register for and acquire a travel voucher.
This travel voucher will make the incoming individuals eligible for the Managed Isolation Facility, where they will remain in isolation for 14 days and be tested for COVID-19.
