Israel Adesanya has signed a multifight deal with the UFC according to the middleweight champion’s representatives. Per the press release it is a ‘lucrative’ deal yet no numbers were attached to back of the claim.
The news comes ahead of Adesanya’s title defense against Robert Whittaker this Saturday. Per an interview with ESPN, he believes he’s the second-highest paid active fighter in the UFC next to Conor McGregor.
Adesanya’s renewal comes at a time when questions about fighter pay are rampant in light of Francis Ngannou’s public dispute with the company over a new contract. Ngannou ends his UFC contract as the company’s heavyweight champion. Unless a new deal is brokered before the end of the year, Ngannout has the ability to leave without having to no longer defend the belt, something that the UFC has attempted to prevent.
Payout Perspective:
You would have to think that signing Adesanya was a big goal going into this fight in light of the Ngannou issue. Of course, without numbers to back up the claim as in other sports when a new contract is announced, who are we to know what Adesanya is making. While MMA is the only sport where people are willing to argue for the non-disclosure of fighter pay due to ‘privacy,’ its hard to verify these claims. Likely good for Adesanya who is an international star and an appeal to the younger demo as well as the MENA-African region.
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