Just days before his rematch with Robert
Whittaker at UFC 271,
middleweight champion Israel
Adesanya has signed a new contract with the promotion.
While Adesanya wouldn’t get into specifics regarding terms, he did
indicate that it was financially significant. A separate
announcement by his management, Paradigm Sports, revealed that it
was a multi-fight contract.
“I just signed a new, crazy deal with the UFC. It’s a big deal.
It’s a fucking big deal … It hasn’t hit me yet,” Adesanya said at
UFC 271 media day. “If I was just gonna do this for the money and
bounce, I would’ve done this maybe three fights ago, to be honest.
I’m kind of set.
“It’s not about money. This is about legacy. This is about martial
arts. This is about learning. I haven’t lost that step. I’m still
hungry. The thing i want to know is: What’s my value to the
company? You can’t undersell my value. If you are, you’re kidding
yourself.”
Congrats to Israel Adesanya on signing a new
multi-fight deal with the UFC. #GP
pic.twitter.com/EOjQ09iSi1— Paradigm Sports (@ParadigmSports)
February 9, 2022
While the Adesanya-Whittaker rematch has been announced for quite
some time, “The Last Stylebender” admitted on Wednesday that he
didn’t actually sign his bout agreement until fight week. The City
Kickboxing standout believes his contract will have long-lasting
implications for both the promotion and other fighters on the
roster.
“I love the UFC. I looked at this company and I wanted to be in
this company for so long. I love the fact that we’ve gotten to this
agreement finally,” Adesanya said.
“Side note, I just signed for this actual bout this week. I’m glad
we came to this agreement, I’m glad we have a good working
relationship. This will trickle down to the rest of the fighters.
It’s only gonna be great for the company. Just give it time.”
Adesanya claimed middleweight gold with a second-round knockout of
Whittaker at UFC 243 in October 2019. He has since authored three
successful title defenses and although he failed in a bid to become
a two-division champion, appears to be one of the UFC’s biggest
stars and top pound-for-pound talents.
“I’ve got that ‘it’ thing,” he said. “I’m glad the UFC is starting
to see that … I’m glad we came to an agreement with this new
deal.”