HOUSTON – According to Israel Adesanya, he is now one of the highest-paid fighters on the UFC roster, the second-highest paid fighter on the roster to be exact.
Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, revealed that he only just signed his bout agreement for Saturday’s UFC 271 main event rematch with Robert Whittaker this week, but doing so came with a new deal.
Adesanya (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) signed “one of the most lucrative multifight deals in company history,” according to his management, Paradigm Sports. Although no specific figures or terms of the contract were disclosed, “The Last Stylebender” is happy to see the UFC recognize his marketability.
“The thing I wanna know is, what’s my value to the company?,” Adesanya said at Wednesday’s media day. “You can’t undersell my value. If you are, you’re kidding yourself. I bring so many different looks to this company, even without trying. I’m Nigerian. I brought that whole nation. Me and the three kings, the continent of Africa is on our back. I wear it on my chest. We have the Oceania region looking at us.
“I’m a guy who crosses over to the mainstream so easily. I have this appeal. I’ve got that ‘it’ thing, so I’m glad that the UFC is starting to see that. They’ve already known that. They’ve known this since the jump. Dana knew this since the jump, but I’m just a guy who deals with my dealings with the UFC behind the scenes. I’m glad we came to an agreement with this new deal, and I look forward to this effect trickling down to the rest of the fighters.”
Adesanya received high praise from former UFC dual champ and the sport’s biggest star Conor McGregor, who is a co-owner of Paradigm Sports.
Can’t wait to see Izzy Style back in the Octagon this weekend! One of the true remaining high level fighter/performer athletes we have on the roster!
Don’t just fight! Perform! @stylebender back in the Octagon this week! Only on PPV! @ufc @espn #AndStill https://t.co/zVYfpNDrb3— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 9, 2022
“Can’t wait to see Izzy Style back in the Octagon this weekend! One of the true remaining high level fighter/performer athletes we have on the roster! Don’t just fight! Perform! @stylebender back in the Octagon this week! Only on PPV! @ufc @espn #AndStill.”
Adesanya also revealed that with his new UFC deal, he believes he is behind only McGregor when it comes to pay.
“Real recognize real,” Adesanya said. “We’re on the same team when it comes to Paradigm. Yeah, I think I’m second place now when it comes to highest-paid fighter on the roster, well, active right now. But Conor is a guy that I’ve admired from the jump, from the jump when he fought Marcus Brimage. And he’s a guy that – he’s a performer. So, when he said ‘perform,’ I know what he means. We know. You don’t just go in there and fight. You perform.”
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