UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya 's jaw hit the floor when his father told him his net worth.
Adesanya is believed to be the highest-paid fighter in the UFC aside from Conor McGregor after signing a new contract before his title defence against Robert Whittaker in February. 'The Last Stylebender' was guaranteed $1million for his unanimous decision win over Whittaker.
Things have come full circle for the Nigerian-born Kiwi since he debuted with the UFC in 2018. Adesanya claimed that he was down to his last $300 before he signed his first UFC contract.
And speaking on Mike Tyson's ' Hotboxin ' podcast, Adesanya revealed how his father - who is an accountant - is helping with managing his money. "I love learning, that's where my pops comes in," he said.
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"Just over Christmas I went home, my pops is the guy is behind the scenes helping me make my money grow and make my money work for me. He sat me down and told me how much I was worth and my jaw hit the floor.
"I was like 'yo, for real?' and he was like 'yeah'. I was like 's***, we could have stopped this ages ago if it was just about money' but it's not just about money for me. I am young, I am fresh, hungry and I want to f*** these mother****ers up whilst I can.
"Money's gonna comes, money's always gonna come. I don't struggle for money. In the UFC, [everyone you fight] is a killer, he's a guy that can beat you.
Adesanya claimed if he was only fighting for money, he could have retired before his stoppage win over Paulo Costa in 2020. The 32-year-old was guaranteed $600,000 for that fight but also received an additional $90,000 in bonuses.
"If I this was about money, I would've bounced. I would've done this maybe three fights ago because I'm kind of set. I have one of the smartest men with money behind me and he's helping me flip money the smart way," Adesanya said before his last fight.
"It's not about money. I love money, don't get me wrong. I do this for the money, but it's not about money. This is about legacy, this is about martial arts, this is about learning. I haven't lost that step, I'm still hungry."
Adesanya is one of the UFC's biggest stars and is still unbeaten at 185lb in the promotion. After clearing out most of the top middleweight contenders, Adesanya will likely defend his belt against No.2 ranked Jared Cannonier this summer.
