"Don’t know how he’s kept it on the down low” - Robert Whittaker shares part of Israel Adesanya’s skillset that surprised him most after CKB training

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker recently warmed the hearts of the collective MMA community as they were captured training together at City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand, Adesanya's home gym.

The pair once shared a heated rivalry, as Whittaker's championship in 2018/2019 saw the emergence of 'The Last Stylebender' as a surging title contender. Adesanya trailblazed his way through the middleweight division, winning his first six UFC fights in a space of 14 months to secure a crack at 'The Reaper'.

The Nigerian-born Kiwi continued his fine form as he knocked Whittaker out at UFC 243 to become the new champion. The pair faced off in a title rematch at UFC 271, where Adesanya secured a unanimous decision win after a competitive fight.

But over the past two years, their rivalry has simmered down, and their recent training sessions indicate that the beef is over for good.

'The Reaper' was interviewed by Ariel Helwani several days after his training sessions with Adesanya. Helwani asked the former champion to share what surprised him most about training with his former rival, and he said:

"Maybe his jiu-jitsu, it's much better than people give him credit for. I'm looking forward to see how that translates into his next fight. I don't know how he's kept it on the down low for so long. It's much better than everybody gives him credit for."

Check out Robert Whittaker discussing Israel Adesanya below (8:55):

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Israel Adesanya's coach shares thrilling preview of his return at UFC Riyadh

Israel Adesanya's injury-stricken past appears to be well and truly behind him, according to his longtime striking coach Mike Angove. 'The Last Stylebender' shared the struggles he has faced with injuries stemming all the way back to his clash with Alex Pereira at UFC 281.

Ahead of his bout with Sean Strickland at UFC 293, Adesanya was captured struggling to do a push-up during the open workouts, and following the bout he confirmed he had dealt with several injuries during the fight camp.

The former champion will face Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Riyadh on Feb. 1, and Adesanya's coach, Angove, was recently interviewed by Submission Radio to preview his student's return to fighting. He said:

"It's night and day. This is physically a very different athletic specimen that you'll have in front of you. Israel had some changes to the [Dricus du Plessis] fight but this is completely different [version], and it needs to be. We have a different opponent."

Check out Mike Angove discussing Israel Adesanya below (16:05):