Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has discussed his meeting with Georges St-Pierre.

‘The Last Stylebender’ is set to return to action this Saturday at UFC 281. The middleweight champion will headline the event against former kickboxing star Alex Pereira. The pair already faced off twice in kickboxing, with the Brazilian winning both times.

At UFC 281, the middleweight champion will look to make his sixth title defense. Like many legends, Adesanya has faced his fair share of criticism over his title reign. Earlier this week, he compared himself to Jon Jones and Anderson Silva, and how they received flak over time.

Now, Israel Adesanya has discussed his meeting with the legendary Georges St-Pierre. ‘Rush’, is a former two-division champion, and faced his fair share of criticism during his peak as well.

During a recent appearance on ESPN’s First Take, the middleweight champion revealed that he met up with the UFC Hall of Famer. When the pair were hanging out, Adesanya revealed that St-Pierre gave him wisdom and advice that he still cherishes.

“There’s not many people on Earth, in existence, that’s ever been in this position. I remember when 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.” (h/t Sportskeeda)

He continued, “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.”