Whatever Israel Adesanya’s new contract is with the UFC, Jake Paul hopes he’s getting what he’s worth.
On Thursday, Paul issued a tweet following the news that Adesanya had re-upped with the UFC on a contract that Adesanya’s management described as “one of the most lucrative multi-fight deals in company history.”
The details of Adesanya’s new deal are not known, but Paul wrote that the reigning UFC middleweight champion “should be getting at least $7 million a fight as a champ of his stature and following globally.”
Adesanya’s re-signing comes ahead of his rematch with Robert Whittaker this Saturday in the main event of UFC 271. In their first meeting at UFC 243 in October 2019, Adesanya defeated Whittaker by second-round knockout to become middleweight champion.
At media day on Wednesday for this weekend’s event, Adesanya said that he hopes his new contract “will trickle down to the rest of the fighters” and that it is “going to be great for the company.” He also admitted that he took issue with his fight with Whittaker being announced before he had put pen to paper.
“I just didn’t like the way [it was announced],” Adesanya said. “When I asked the next day, I was like ‘did you guys see the announcement?’ and they’re like ‘what announcement?’ No one saw the announcement.
“I’m like bro, this is not how you announce a fight of this magnitude and that’s because we’re doing some dealings in the back at the moment so I just felt like the people doing that bit in the UFC dropped the ball.”
Paul was not the only combat sports personality to pay respect to Adesanya during fight week as former two-division champion Conor McGregor also reacted to news of the re-signing with praise.
“Can’t wait to see Izzy Style back in the Octagon this weekend,” McGregor wrote. “One of the true remaining high level fighter/performer athletes we have on the roster! Don’t just fight! Perform!”
It’s not surprising that Paul would comment on Adesanya’s contract given that the YouTuber-turned-boxer has been embroiled in a public feud with UFC President Dana White over fighter pay. He recently produced a diss track aimed at White while declaring his support for UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Ngannou’s contract status has also been the subject of much scrutiny as he has repeatedly requested a new deal that will allow him to pursue opportunities in professional boxing. After successfully defending his title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, Ngannou’s management confirmed that he will likely be out for the majority of 2022 as he is expected to undergo knee surgery.