Israel Adesanya gave a crucial tip to "stone cold, no smile" Alex Pereira on fighting Jan Blachowicz during surprise airport encounter

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya recently opened up about his airport encounter with Alex Pereira and revealed what advice he gave 'Poatan' for his upcoming light heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowicz.

The two longtime combat sports rivals recently ran into each other at an airport in Australia and can be seen sharing some light banter as they cleared the security checkpoint.

With Alex Pereira set to face Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291 in July, Israel Adesanya recently revealed that he shared some tips with the Brazilian about fighting the former light heavyweight champion.

Given that the Polish fighter has beaten Adesanya in the past, the Nigerian-born Kiwi has experience sharing the octagon with Blachowicz.

In a recent interview on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, 'The Last Stylebender' discussed meeting 'Poatan' and said:

"He's fighting the guy, first MMA loss for me when I went up to 205... I had to let him know... I thought Jan was gonna attack me a little bit more but he was patient. So I kinda let him know, you be patient too."

Adesanya also shared his experience meeting his fierce rival so casually, stating:

"I saw him and I was like, 'Hey,' and then his coach and girl saw me and started laughing. He turns around, [he's] stone cold, no smile, no laugh. I'm like, "What's up man" and shook his hand."

Catch Israel Adesanya's comments below (16:40):

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Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira: Kai Kara-France on 'The Last Stylebender's "shocking" KO against 'Poatan'

After coming up short against Alex Pereira three times across kickboxing and MMA, Israel Adesanya finally defeated his personal 'boogeyman' in their fourth meeting at UFC 287 in April. 'The Last Stylebender' brutally knocked 'Poatan' out cold in round two of their contest to reclaim the middleweight title.

UFC flyweight contender Kai Kara-France recently opened up about his teammate's unexpected victory and claimed that the knockout Adesanya delivered was among this generation's greatest sporting moments.

At the recent UFC Vegas 74 media day, Kara-France was asked how inspirational Adesanya's knockout of Periera was. He replied:

"It's just shocking. Like, how it happened, the backstory... The way he did it. it was like he knew exactly what was going to happen. I always had confidence in Izzy, but to see him do it like he did it... It's definitely one of the biggest sporting moments of out generation."

Alex Pereira has now set his sights on the light heavyweight division with Jan Blachowicz as his first test. Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya is expected to defend his title against the winner of Dricus Du Plessis vs. Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.