New UFC Contract, Fighter Pay, Being 1 Of 3 African Champions

Israel Adesanya fought to earn everything he has in life, literally. He was 6-1 as a professional boxer, 80-5 as a professional kick boxer, and now, 22-1 in the UFC.

But his recent fights haven’t only been inside an octagon.

Adesanya and his management team at Paradigm Sports and AP Sports have fought behind the scenes too.

So much so, that his recent fight with Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 almost didn’t happen.

We spoke about UFC fighter pay, and how he feels to be champion alongside Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou. “I’m the runt,” Adesanya said.

“[Kamaru Usman] and [Francis Ngannou], they’re the pick of the litter,” Adesanya said. “And Francis, his story is crazy. That’s why I’m so happy for him, where he’s at now. The position of power he’s in right now.”

Ngannou, the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, took the UFC contract and fighter pay debacle mainstream.

“It’s atrocious. That’s stupid that the heavyweight champion of the UFC is paid $600,000 a fight. That should not be a thing. That should not be a sentence.”

I asked Adesanya how it came to this, referencing Ngannou and the other athletes who’ve spoken out.

“People make mistakes. The UFC is [run by] humans. Human error is a thing. Egos get involved. But the good thing about mistakes is they can be rectified.”

He also debunked the rumor that his new UFC contract was their way to make up for Ngannou’s contract issues.

“We fought tooth and nail, me, Paradigm Sports Management, AP Sports Management… we had our dealings behind the scenes. I signed for that fight on the fight week because it got pushed that deep.”

“My team [and I] know what we’re worth and what we should be fighting for. So I’m glad we got this new deal. This is the beginning of a new change. Francis started it off; I also did my dealings behind the scenes.”

“A guy starting his first fight in the UFC should not be fighting for, you know, whatever it is, twelve grand or ten grand. They should be fighting to make enough to pay their manager, train full-time, and not have to work a second or third job. That’s just embarrassing to the sport. I feel that it’s embarrassing to the UFC that a high-level athlete should be doing that.”

Adesanya is optimistic about the future, though, and believes that once Nigerians, and Africans in general, grasp onto MMA, it’s going to change everything.

“Like I said during the [UFC 270] post-fight press conference, it’s going to trickle down. I’m [going to] make sure it trickles down to my team, and then I’m [going] to make sure it trickles down to the other fighters.”

“Less than 20 Africans in the UFC. Three of us are from the great continent of Africa are champions. And we are ruling this with a black iron fist.”

“But once a percentage of Nigerians grasp MMA or Africans in general, it’s [going to] be like when 50 Cent dropped In Da Club. Everyone is going to have to take a backseat for a long time.”

Watch my full Israel Adesanya interview on YouTube now.