UFC star Israel Adesanya would often "go broke" in his early career after refusing to take his dad's financial advice.
Adesanya, the former middleweight champion, used to kickbox in China before moving into MMA and finding his way to the UFC where he would never lose at 185lb until this month. His father is an accountant, and would advise him on what to do when he received his lump sums from fighting, although he often wouldn't take his dad's words on board.
Nowadays, the Nigerian-born fighter is one of the richest men in combat sports, but it wasn't always that way. And after he returned from fighting in China, his dad Oluwafemi told him he should buy a house, which he opted against doing due to the responsibilities of the upkeep.
"I'm stubborn, so when I was young and I came back from China, he tried to get me to get a house," Adesanya explained during an appearance on Hot Ones this week. "I'm like, 'Oh, I don't want the responsibility of owning a house, blah, blah, blah I'm too young.' Stupid. Lost a lot of money.
"Eventually, when I got into the UFC, I was like, 'Every time I don't listen to this man about money, I end up going broke. I should probably listen to this man.' I listen to my gut as well. Yeah, I listen to him when it comes to money because he knows how money works."
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At the start of this year it was announced Adesanya, with the help of Tim Simpson and his management team Paradigm Sports, had signed the most lucrative deal in the UFC aside from Conor McGregor's. He repaid the promotion with three pay-per-view main events in nine months, winning the first two against Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier before losing in New York this month.
He faced old kickboxing rival Alex Pereira at Madison Square Garden in the main event of a star-studded UFC 281 show, and dominated proceedings until the last few minutes of the fifth round. After twice losing to the Brazilian in kickboxing, Adesanya was clipped once again and lost the belt to his long-time foe.
