Israel Adesanya says UFC have ‘seen my value’ with new deal that has made him biggest earner behind Conor McGregor
ISRAEL ADESANYA believes his bumper new deal with the UFC is a result of the promotion of seeing his ‘value’. The dominant middleweight king inked a new contract with mixed martial arts’ premier organisation ahead of his rematch with Robert Whittaker earlier this month. Details of the 32-year-old’s new deal have not been released, although […]
ISRAEL ADESANYA believes his bumper new deal with the UFC is a result of the promotion of seeing his ‘value’.
The dominant middleweight king inked a new contract with mixed martial arts’ premier organisation ahead of his rematch with Robert Whittaker earlier this month.
Details of the 32-year-old’s new deal have not been released, although it’s understood he’s now the second-highest-paid star in the promotion behind Conor McGregor.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander is more than happy with the new terms of his contract, which he believes is a sign the UFC are fully aware of the financial powerhouse he’s become.
The Last Stylebender told SunSport: “[There have] been a lot of things, a lot of factors have played into the fact that now UFC has seen my value to the company.
“[And] they’ve shown me my value, which I really appreciate. So I look forward to doing more good business with them.”
Adesanya’s global appeal was apparent well before he became undisputed middleweight champ in October 2019.
But his rise to stardom in recent years has brought the eyes of the breakdancing and anime communities to his journey in the UFC and the sport of MMA as a whole.
When asked if his crossover appeal and his importance to cracking the African market played a role in his new deal, he replied: “Yeah [it’s been a combination of that], and then some.”
The role cerebral assassin Adesanya plays in furthering the fast-growing Oceanic market was no doubt also at the forefront of the UFC’s mind when handing him a new deal.
He continued: “Even the Oceania situation that we have going on with myself and [Alexander] Volkanovski as champions and the team that we have building over there.
“And that’s how the whole world is watching us because of what we’re doing in the UFC.”
Although Adesanya is over the moon with his new deal, he admits the terms of the lucrative agreement will do ‘for now’.
Fan favourite Adesanya retained his middleweight title earlier this month with a unanimous decision victory over Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271.
He said of the fight: “I thought I did well. I wanted to do better, so that’s why I was so hard on myself.
“So [I give myself] a 7/10. So yeah, I know how I felt in there and I felt superior to [Robert].”
Adesanya is eyeing a busy 2022, with a quick turnaround against the ‘Killa Gorilla’ Jared Cannonier at the forefront of his mind.