Israel Adesanya Doesn’t Want You To Underestimate His Worth

Israel Adesanya is more determined than ever after he signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC on Wednesday. This deal is likely to make him one of the highest paid MMA stars in the industry.

The Last Stylebender was quick to address the attention that has been on him after the news was made public.

While he was addressing the UFC 271 media day presser, the fighter said: “The thing I wanna know is, what’s my value to the company? You can’t undersell my value. If you are, you’re kidding yourself. I bring so many different looks to this company, even without trying.”

The middleweight champ further showed honour in having Nigerian roots.

“I’m Nigerian, I brought that whole nation and the three kings, the continent of Africa is on our backs,” he said. “I wear it on my chest. We have the Oceanian region looking at us. I’m a guy who crosses over to the mainstream so easily. I have this appeal. I know I have that ‘it’ thing.”

Adesanya is hopeful that the company will begin hiking the purses of other fighters on the roster as well.

“So I’m glad the UFC is starting to see that. They’ve already known that,” the champ said.

“They knew this since the jump but, yeah, I’m just a guy who deals [about] what my deal is with the UFC behind the scenes. I’m glad we agreed with this new deal and I look forward to this effect trickling down to the rest of the fighters.”