UFC 271: Israel Adesanya Says He Signed “New, Crazy” Deal With UFC, Expects Trickle-Down Effect for Other Fighters

Houston, TX — “I just signed a new, crazy deal with the UFC,” middleweight champion Israel Adesanya revealed during the UFC 271 media day on Wednesday. “It’s a big deal, it’s a f*cking big deal.”

That’s big news, given Adesanya is one of the promotion’s most popular stars. “The Last Stylebender” later made the startling revelation that he’d signed the contract for this weekend’s fight with Robert Whittaker “this week.”

While that seems rather last minute, it does explain Adesanya’s response to his rematch with Whittaker being announced. At the time, he took to social media to respond with a “cap” emoji, indicating the promotion was lying about it. More than anything, Adesanya’s reaction was a response to the underwhelming announcement of the rematch: a small banner placed on screen during a UFC broadcast.

“Bro, this is not how you announce a fight with this magnitude,” Adesanya said during Wednesday’s UFC 271 media day. “I just felt like the people doing that bit of the UFC dropped the ball a bit. You make a little teaser trailer, and then you have [Joe] Rogan, [Jon] Anik and D[aniel] C[ormier] riff about it right after the trailer, before the main event. Do I have to do your job for you? I could do it on my phone, like literally, I could chop it up real quick.”

In the end, however, Adesanya signed a deal that he believes will have a trickle-down effect for other fighters. And one that recognizes his value to the UFC.

“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. I bring so many different looks to this company, without even trying,” Adesanya explained. “I’m Nigerian, I brought that whole nation, me and the three kings [Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou], the continent of Africa is on our back, I wear it on my chest. We have the Oceania region looking at us. I’m a guy that crosses over to the mainstream so easily, and I have this appeal, I’ve got that “it” thing, so I’m glad that the UFC is starting to see that. They’ve already known that, they’ve known this since the jump. Dana [White] knew this since the jump.”

But, Adesanya added, he’s a guy who does his deals with the UFC “behind the scenes. And I’m glad that we came to an agreement with this new deal, and I look forward to this effect trickling down to the rest of the fighters.”

Despite what promises to be a lucrative new contract, the enormity of the financial windfall “hasn’t hit me yet,” admitted Adesanya. “Because if this was about money, if I was just going to do this for the money and bounce, I would have done this maybe three fights ago, to be honest, because I’m kind of set. I have one of the smartest men with money behind me, who’s helping me flip my money the smart way. But it’s not about money.”

“I love money, don’t get me wrong, I do this for the money, but it’s not about money,” he continued. “This is about legacy, this is about martial arts, this is about learning. I haven’t lost that step. I’m still hungry. I’m 32, I’m fresh, I’m young.” Adesanya said he went back to the “young Izzy” in this most recent training camp for Whittaker, once again becoming “the kid that was just soaking everything up and was real curious.”

Following his first meeting with Robert Whittaker, Adesanya said “The Reaper” had fought exactly as expected. The reigning middleweight champion is expecting a different Whittaker this time around.

“He has matured, like you said, and I expect him to be more patient,” he told Cageside Press. “But so am I. I will be patient. I’ve got the belt. He wants the belt, come get the belt. I don’t have to do sh*t, I just have to wait for him to do work, because I’m the one with the belt, but this could be me just telling fibs as well. I might have my own secret plans that I want to do. But he’s going to come different, he’s not going to do what he did the first time, because he’d be silly to do so.”

Watch the full UFC 271 media day press scrum with Israel Adesanya above. More coverage from the event can be found below.