"He’s one of us” - Israel Adesanya’s coach opens up on Robert Whittaker training at CKB Gym in New Zealand

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker recently trained together at the famous City Kickboxing Gym in New Zealand, home of 'The Last Stylebender' and other elite UFC fighters such as Dan Hooker. The middleweight duo's journey from foes to friends has warmed the hearts of many MMA fans.

Adesanya and Whittaker previously competed twice in the octagon, both for the 185-pound title. 'The Reaper' suffered a KO loss at UFC 243 to lose the title before being handed a unanimous decision defeat in their rematch at UFC 271.

The pair shared a bitter feud at the height of their rivalry. However, several years have passed since their last clash, and it appears that both fighters have put their beef in the rear-view mirror.

Following the viral footage of Whittaker and Adesanya training together, the CKB head coach, Eugene Bareman, was interviewed by Combat TV, and he shared his thoughts on the former UFC champion training with his student.

Bareman said this:

"Yeah, Rob Whittaker came in. He's just here for two or three days, it just is what it is... When you get guys like that coming in it just elevates the room, elevates the atmosphere. It's cool, Rob's a cool cat. He's one of us. Sometimes we forget that... You can't forget where you're from and Rob's from New Zealand."

Watch Eugene Bareman discuss Rob Whittaker and Israel Adesanya training together below (3:55):

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Israel Adesanya's teammate says the former champion is renewed ahead of his return

Israel Adesanya suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in his career when he faced Sean Strickland at UFC 293 and Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305. Having reigned supreme over the middleweight division from 2019 until 2023, the former champion's consecutive defeats led to speculation that he may be past his prime.

But ahead of his return at UFC Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1 against Nassourdine Imavov, a teammate of Adesanya, Navajo Sterling, has shared an exciting preview of what fans can expect.

Sterling, who competes in the UFC's light heavyweight division, was recently interviewed by Home of Fight, where he said this:

"[Adesanya] really intense. He definitely has found a new spark... I knew, he was training so much, I was like, 'Surely this guy's got a fight.' And then I saw him get matched up. Yeah, he's looking really sharp from when I last left. He's putting in the work, I'm such a fan of him and so happy to see him fight again. Imavov is good, he's got that young fire as well."

Check out Navajo Sterling's comments about Israel Adesanya below (7:30):