Conor McGregor hailed Israel Adesanya as 'one of the true remaining high-level fighter/performer athletes'

• Conor McGregor hailed Israel Adesanya on Twitter this week.
• It was not long before the UFC middleweight champion returned the praise.

Conor McGregor hailed Israel Adesanya as "one of the true remaining high-level fighter/performer athletes."

The UFC middleweight champion Adesanya returns Saturday to the Octagon where he will defend his strap in a rematch against 185-pound rival Robert Whittaker at the UFC 271 event in Houston.

Ahead of the weekend bout, McGregor praised Adesanya on Twitter.

"Can't wait to see Izzy Style back in the Octagon this weekend," the former two-weight UFC champ told his 9 million followers on the app. "Don't just fight, perform!"

Responding at the UFC 271 media day scrum, Adesanya said: "I appreciate Conor and what he's done for the game.

"Whether you like him or not, he fucking raised the bar, for everyone. I look to do the same before I'm done with this game!

The bout got its final approval when both athletes successfully made weight Friday, scaling 184-pounds.

They fought for the first time in 2019 at UFC 243 with Adesanya destroying Whittaker in the second round.

The 32-year-old Stylebender cautiously kickboxed from range but adjusted his gameplan when he realized Whittaker was there for the taking, and so he closed the distance before busting him up with heavy counter strikes.

Whittaker feels like he's evolved since then, and is a completely different fighter. "It's a new Rob Whittaker, Rob Whittaker 2.0," the 31-year-old Reaper told Yahoo Sports this week.

"In this fight, I think you're just going to see me. I'll be doing my thing, fighting the way I fight. That's the main thing I want to get across. I want to get in there and do what I trained for and just fight my own fight."

Adesanya and Whittaker fight for the second time in the main event of UFC 271, but the weekend card has many other intriguing matches.

Heavy-hitting heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa collide in the penultimate bout, after rivals Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson fight at middleweight.

There are 15 matches in total on the card, which will be broadcast on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass. The final five matches can only be seen if the pay-per-view is purchased.