Jake Paul has congratulated Israel Adesanya for signing a lucrative new deal with the UFC, but he still believes that it should be more.
The YouTuber-turned-fighter has become one of the most outspoken advocates for fighter pay in combat sports, taking particular issue with the UFC and Dana White.
He is a friend of Adesanya's, having met the middleweight champion at his fight with Nate Robinson on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr.
Adesanya commentated on the event alongside rapper Snoop Dogg and legendary boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard on a panel anchored by veteran broadcaster Mauro Ranallo.
And the pair have remained friends since, with Adesanya attending Paul's post-fight party in California and the YouTuber showing his support for the UFC star.
While Paul is delighted for his pal to get a new deal with the promotion, he has argued that it should be even bigger money, saying in a tweet: "Congrats to my guy Israel Adesanya - excited for this weekend.
"My boy should be getting at least $7million a fight as a champ of his stature and following globally…"
And while Adesanya is expected to be the best-paid fighter in the UFC aside from Conor McGregor with this new deal, which begins on Saturday night with his title defence against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271, it likely won't be that high.
The Nigerian fighter was over the moon with the deal, which was orchestrated by manager Tim Simpson and the higher ups at Paradigm Management, which also takes care of McGregor.
"It's a big deal," he told media at a press event for UFC 271. "It's a f***ing big deal.
"And Eugene [Bareman, his coach] was ecstatic, you see even he got emotional - Tim the same way.
"But I was kind of like, 'It hasn't hit me yet.' Because if I this was about money, I would've bounced. I would've done this maybe three fights ago, to be honest.
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"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.
"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. And yeah, I haven't lost that step, I'm still hungry."
And that hunger will come into play against rival Whittaker this weekend at UFC 271.
He brutally knocked out the Australian former champion to become the undisputed champion when they last met in Melbourne at UFC 243 back in 2019.
But the ex-champion has gone on a three-fight tear since that night, and earned his way back to another world title shot.
Adesanya is favourite for the fight, but many fans believe it will be a much tougher match-up than the first.
