"He's whooped my a** many a time in the gym" - Israel Adesanya puts over Mark Timms, former opponent turned sparring partner

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Israel Adesanya (left) and Mark Timms & Israel Adesanya (right) [Image credits: @maark_timms on Instagram]

In a recently posted video on his YouTube channel, Israel Adesanya gave props to his teammate Mark Timms for giving the UFC champ a tough time at the gym.

'The Last Stylebender' uploaded a second episode to his YouTube series 'Israel Adesanya - Day in the Life' where he can be seen singing the praises of his former opponent turned sparring partner:

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"We fought each other once [in] King of the Ring, I had the best that night but trust me, he has many a times claimed it back in the gym. Just not in front of a crowd. He knows how to, like, push me and he has whopped my a-- many a time in the gym," Israel Adesanya said in the video.

Adesanya also shared what went through his mind when he first came across Timms at the King of the Ring Tournament:

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"I remember the first time I saw him was at the weigh-ins and I was like f--k, we're gonna have to watch out for this guy.,,I was like 'I don't wanna fight this guy', because he had like head tattoos and he had a mean mug the whole time at the weigh-ins and he was mean-mugging everyone. But now that you know him, he's a big softy, just like me, like we are both f-----g dorks."

Adesanya and Timms faced off at King of the Ring 86 in April 2015. It was a cruiserweight bout that ended in a second-round TKO victory for 'The Last Stylebender'. Now, both fighters train together at City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand.

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You can watch the full episode below:

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Israel Adesanya defeated Marvin Vettori in his last fight at UFC 263

Israel Adesanya's recently competed in the main event of UFC 263 in Glendale, Arizona. The New Zealander defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision in a one-sided fight.

After the fight, 'The Last Stylebender' called out his "arch-nemesis" Robert Whittaker for a rematch in New Zealand.

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