Daniel Cormier explains why Israel Adesanya's recent proximity with Georges St-Pierre has something to do with his upcoming opponent Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya spent some time with former UFC two-division champion Georges St-Pierre in Canada ahead of his scheduled fight against kickboxing foe Alex Pereira at UFC 281. The way Daniel Cormier sees it, Adesanya's recent proximity to St-Pierre has something to do with his upcoming opponent.

View this post on Instagram

Instagram Post

While previewing the upcoming clash, Daniel Cormier stated that Israel Adesanya's recent closeness to 'Rush' might be due to Pereira's menacing demeanor:

"He [Adesanya] went up to Canada and spent some time with Georges St-Pierre to try and develop that mindset of taking on someone that has gotten you before [referring to the two losses in kickboxing]. Remember GSP went back and beat Matt Serra. So it's like he went to Georges, he went to a lot of people that can live the life or have lived the life he's leaving."

Cormier added:

"Pereira is a nightmare for him. He has shown him things that Adesanya hasn't seen much in his life. But his mentality seems strong and he seems ready."

Alex Pereira is viewed by many as the biggest threat to 'The Last Stylebender's dominant reign as the middleweight champion. Having already beaten Adesanya twice in the kickboxing ring, 'Poatan' will be looking forward to replicate the same outcome in his upcoming clash.

Watch the latest episode of DC & RC below:

Israel Adesanya reveals that he was delighted to link up with Georges St-Pierre

Israel Adesanya and Georges St-Pierre have expressed their mutual admiration for each other several times in the past. 'Rush' once went as far as to hail Adesanya as the "perfect fighter".

.@stylebender has a fan in UFC legend @GeorgesStPierre. Full video interview with GSP: youtu.be/hIDxMu-tdY0 https://t.co/5xXK6J3q8X

When Adesanya told GSP that he would be in Toronto, the former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion flew from Montreal to pay a visit. MMA fans were delighted to see the interaction between their beloved fighters in a video released by Adesanya on his YouTube channel.

Speaking about their interaction in a recent face-to-face interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Adesanya said:

"I'm glad we linked up. I was honored because...I just said, 'Look, I'm going to go to Toronto for three nights if you [GSP] happen to be around.' He's like, 'Yeah. I'll come see you.' He flew just to come hang out with me. And I felt honored. It was cool just to chop it up. Just a beautiful human being man."

Israel Adesanya calls Georges St-Pierre a "beautiful human being" 🤝 #TheMMAHour

▶️ youtu.be/E6KS9yL7vnw https://t.co/ulRY8uZZ30