UFC 253: Kiwi middleweight champion Israel Adesanya’s grand prize after beating Paulo Costa

UFC Kiwi Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya walked away with $ 1.05 million after his title defense against Brazilian Paulo Costa.

Adesanya made Costa’s job easier with a second-round TKO victory at UFC 253 at Fight Island in Abu Dabhi on Sunday.

Just for showing up, the 31-year-old won a guaranteed $ 915,000, which was reportedly a 10 percent increase from his previous title defense against Yoel Romero, and will likely increase as his shares continue to rise in the UFC.

Aside from base salary, Adesanya also earned $ 61,000 from promotional work in the lead-up to the fight and claimed a ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus to the tune of another $ 76,200.

Adesanya dominated the fight and gave Costa his first loss in his professional career. And it took her just under nine minutes to do it.

After the fight, he alluded to his financial windfall on Twitter, joking about buying a new Rolls Royce.

According to UFC president Dana White, Adesanya’s fight broke several records, and the pre-fight gaze became the most watched in the organization’s history. Pay-per-view purchases for the event, which have not been disclosed, are also expected to be substantial.

Despite the relatively simple victory, the latest victory will likely be Adesanya’s biggest in his career when it comes to earning him more global recognition and business opportunities.

Aside from UFC payments, Adesanya also has various sponsorships on the go. He recently signed a deal with Puma and was on the cover of the latest UFC video game.

Adesanya has also been outspoken about the UFC’s pay structure when it comes to fighters not gaining weight and called for a harsher penalty to be imposed on those fighters, whom he called “cheaters.”

Adesanya’s City Kickboxing teammate Shane Young was knocked out on the same undercard over the weekend by Ludovit Klein, who weighed four pounds (1.81 kg) over the 146-pound (66.2 kg) featherweight limit. .

Young won 30 percent of the Klein purse, but Adesanya believes that was not enough and wants fighters who lose weight to receive a greater penalty.

“It’s just cheating,” Adesanya said after defeating Costa.

“I’m telling you, if you fine someone 90 percent of your purse if you lose weight, I guarantee that no matter how much money you are making, no one is going to go through all this camp, all this s ***, and be willing to give 90 percent of your salary to the other guy.

“It will take every second to make the weight.

“Even if you’re making $ 5 million, if 90 percent of that goes to your opponent, I guarantee that people will gain weight.”

Adesanya said Klein and Zubaira Tukhugov, who also lost four pounds from their lightweight loss to Hakeem Dawodu, weren’t professionals.

“We [City Kickboxing] They have guys like Carlos Ulberg and Blood Diamond who are not even in the UFC yet and they were ready, they were close to their weight already, they are professionals, “Adesanya said.

“So if you can’t hack it, go home because we have assassins ready to go.”

UFC President Dana White said Adesanya “was not wrong” but explained that any changes to the rules will have to come from the relevant commissions.

“That is not our place, that is the commission that takes care of it,” White said.

“But he is not wrong, he takes 80 or 90 percent of the money from any body, they will appear in the right way.”