Israel Adesanya has revealed his admiration for Tyson Fury as he claimed he is a 'phenomenal human being'.

The Last Stylebender is impressed by the way the Gypsy King has managed to turn his life around after battling drug addiction and depression.

And he insists that it is a story which deserves to be told on the big screen, adding 'I can't wait for the biopic to come out'.

Adesanya made the claim while speaking to former professional heptathlete Caroline Pearce for the UFC's broadcast partner BT Sport.

He said: "I love his story. It's phenomenal.

"I can't wait for the biopic to come out.

"He's a phenomenal human being, not just a fighter. I really admire what he's done." 

BT Sport's UFC Twitter account posted a tweet reminding their social media followers of Adesanya's comments, which Fury liked and quote-tweeted.

The WBC heavyweight champion showed his appreciation for his UFC middleweight counterpart with a simple two-word tweet.

He wrote in reply: "respect Stylebender," followed by a handshake emoji.

Adesanya, 32, returns to the cage on Saturday, in a rematch against Australia's Robert Whittaker, 30, who he beat in 2019.

The New Zealander, who was born and raised in Nigeria, has held the middleweight title for almost three years now and is starting to lap the division.

But he dismissed the possibility of facing fellow African champion Kamaru Usman in a super-fight.

Adesanya continued: "It's been on record. I said I wouldn't want it. He said he doesn't want it.

"But you don't always get what you want so Ali [Abdelaziz] should just be quiet once in a while. He talks too much a little bit. He knows how to contact me directly if he wants to speak to me.

"He doesn't have to go on Twitter or whatever, I don't know why the guy does that, he can just talk to me directly if he needs to.

"But yeah, it's been on record me and Kamaru said we don't desire to do that because it's bigger than just money, it's bigger than us, it's for our home nation, so f*** what Ali is saying."