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Israel Adesanya has been spending time with Georges St-Pierre leading up to UFC 281. The middleweight champion recently opened up about meeting with the UFC Hall of Famer.
During a recent appearance on First Take, Adesanya stated:
"There's not many people on Earth, in existence, that's ever been in this position. I remember wehn Georges was the champion and he was getting the same criticism I was while he was dominating... Georges actually flew from Montreal to come hang out with me, and I felt honored about that. We just chopped it up for a couple of days and I learnt a lot from him."
Adesanya elaborated, adding:
"He said heavy is the head that wears the crown and a few other things. We talked about some uncanny - Mickey wouldn't like what we talked about. We talked about the trappings of fame, of this lifestyle, and just everything. He was so open and I was appreciative of that."
Adesanya is looking to defend his middleweight belt for the sixth time at UFC 281. It is no surprise to see him looking to learn from a UFC legend such as St-Pierre as he looks to avenge his two kickboxing losses to Alex Pereira.
Watch Israel Adesanya's full comments on spending time with Georges St-Pierre below (starting at the 2:30 mark):
Daniel Cormier reveals why he believes Israel Adesanya spent time with Georges St-Pierre
Israel Adesanya is preparing for his sixth title defense at UFC 281. The No.2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter will face his former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira, who holds two victories over him. Former double champ Daniel Cormier believes that his opponent could be the reason why Adesanya has been spending time with UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre.
Speaking on his podcast, DC & RC, the UFC Hall of Famer stated:
"He went up to Canada, he spent some time with Georges St-Pierre to try to develop that mindset of taking on someone that has gotten you before. Remember GSP went back and beat Matt Serra. He went to Georges, he went to a lot of people that can live the life or have lived the life that he's living to face down that dragon."
Adesanya will look to avenge his two kickboxing losses to Pereira at UFC 281. The No.4-ranked middleweight remains the only fighter to knockout Adesanya in his combat sports career, and is looking to become the first mixed martial arts middleweight to defeat him. St-Pierre famously recaptured the welterweight title at UFC 83 against Matt Serra, after losing to him a year earlier at UFC 69.
Watch Daniel Cormier's comments on Israel Adesanya meeting with Georges St-Pierre below (starting at the 5:10 mark):
