Nigerian-New Zealand mixed martial artist Israel Adesanya earned $1.8 million from Sunday’s UFC 276 main event after defeating U.S. fighter Jared Cannonier to retain his middleweight championship belt.
The championship bout, which “The Last Style Bender” won by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45) over his challenger, marks his fifth title defense in the UFC, a U.S. MMA promotion led by American businessman and fight promoter Dana White.
Adesanya’s victory over Cannonier solidifies his outstanding career, further propelling him to the “legend status” in the UFC with a stellar record of 22 wins and one loss. As a result, he is on track to pocket a $1.8-million purse from the event, which elicited wild reactions from fight fans all over the world.
The $1.8-million pay-out from the Las Vegas-based promotion company is the highest of his career, bringing his total fight earnings this year to $3.34 million.
This comes nearly five months after earning $1.54 million from his fourth UFC championship defense against Australian MMA fighter Robert Whitaker, the first of several fights to come under Adesanya’s new contract.
The lucrative multi-fight contract which he recently signed with the UFC runs through 2023, making him one of the highest-paid fighters on the UFC’s roster.
In his first title defense under the new lucrative deal with the UFC, the Nigerian-born MMA fighter received a total base pay of $1 million, as well as $500,000 in pay-per-view earnings, bringing his total purse pay from the title match to $1.54 million.
Adesanya is expected to headline another UFC main event in the fourth quarter of 2022, potentially bringing his total fight earnings for the year to more than $5 million.
Aside from his octagon earnings, the fighter has channeled his earlier fight winnings into real estate investments in Auckland, New Zealand, and Lagos, Nigeria, as he continues to leverage key partnerships, particularly with the Australian MMA equipment and apparel company, Engage, to diversify his income streams.
