Earlier today, it was announced that UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be signing a new multi-fight deal with the UFC, a deal that will make him “one of the top paid athletes in the history of mixed martial arts.”
There could be some underlying significance of Adesanya resigning that isn’t immediately apparent. Adesanya is part of the “three African kings” crew made up of Nigeria’s Kamaru Usman (welterweight champion) and Adesanya as well as Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou (heavyweight champion).
Recently, Ngannou has been at extreme odds with the UFC over a new contract, saying he wants more freedom and a lot more money in a potential new deal. With a growing public concern and growing mainstream awareness of the lack of fighter pay and fighter rights, many fans have suggest that Ngannou, Usman, and Adesanya band together and holdout from fighting until something can be done to rectify these issues. It has also been suggested that these could be the fighters that actually have the power to start a fighters union.
Usman’s manager is Ali Abdelaziz, who is the UFC’s favorite manager to work with, so it is extremely unlikely that there will be any sort of contention between Usman and the UFC when it comes to coming to terms on things.
There have been rumblings recently that Adesanya could potentially test free agency as well, but clearly he and the UFC were able to come to a deal everybody was happy with.
Now that Adesanya has resigned too, this leaves Ngannou a bit on an island of his own to fight for his rights, as well as everyone else’s rights. In fairness, Ngannou put himself in this position and hasn’t asked for anyone else’s help, but Adesanya resigning essentially signals that Ngannou will be all alone in his fight now.
The Other Side of the Argument
The other significance of this news is the money that Adesanya will be making. When the news of Adesanya’s multi-fight deal was announced, it was stated that the deal will make him “one of the top paid athletes in the history of mixed martial arts.”
While we don’t have clarification now of how many fights the deal is for, or exactly how much money he will be making on his new deal, this is still good for everybody. The fact that the UFC was able to step up and give Adesanya a contract that allows Adesanya’s team to brag about how much money he will be making is a great thing for fighter pay.
It’s a small step, though. Adesanya is one of a very small amount of fighters who can actually brag about the money that they make. A large majority of the UFC roster still remain EXTREMELY underpaid, with more fighters struggling to get by than you likely realize. But, the fact that blockbuster deals are being made is still a good thing to move fighter pay and fighter rights forward.
Adesanya fights this Saturday, February 12, at UFC 271 when he defends his middleweight title against Robert Whittaker.
