Israel Adesanya is a Nigerian–New Zealander professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer best known for winning the UFC middleweight championship in 2023. He is from Lagos state, Nigeria, and his net worth is estimated at $4 million.
The former Glory Kickboxer, Israel Adesanya, aka The Stylebender, currently ranks #5 in the UFC Men’s pound-for-pound rankings with a professional record of 24 wins and 2 losses. He has successfully won millions of hearts via his capabilities which have earned him multiple championships. Today, he is one of the biggest and perhaps, richest mixed martial artists in the world. Get to know more about Israel Adesanya’s history and how he accumulated his wealth.
Where Is Israel Adesanya From?
Israel Adesanya hails from Lagos state, Southwest Nigeria. He belongs to the Yoruba tribe and his full name is Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya. His father, Oluwafemi, is an accountant, while his mother, Taiwo, is a nurse. He has four siblings and their named are Deborah Adesanya, Samuel Adesanya, David Adesanya and Bolu Adesanya.
Israel Adesanya started his education at Chrisland School, Opebi, in Ikeja, Lagos, before he relocated to Ghana with his family for 10 months. At the age of 10, he moved to Rotorua, New Zealand, and furthered his education at Rotorua Boys’ High School. He also attended the Universal College of Learning, Whanganui, where he bagged a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Design.
What is Israel Adesanya’s Net Worth?
Israel Adesanya’s net worth is estimated at $4 million, which he accumulated mostly from his career as a professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and boxer. Israel is currently competing in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current and two-time UFC Middleweight Champion. With his career still at its peak, Israel is bound to earn more income from his future fights, thereby increasing his net worth and sponsorship deals even further.
The 34-year-old mixed martial artist not only makes his income from winning his fights but also from the number of PPVs he sells and how well he is able to entertain his viewers. Generally, his income is from various sources which include his base salary, pay-per-view earnings, and sponsorship incomes.
How Much Did Israel Adesanya Earn as a Kickboxer?
There are no current details of Adesanya’s earnings as a kickboxer. However, his last match before transitioning to mixed martial arts was a rematch with Alex Pereira at Glory of Heroes 7 and it had him earning over $2 million dollars after being knocked out with a short left hook in the third round.
Despite losing to his Brazilian opponent in 2017, Adesanya reportedly earned more than $2.6 million from the bout, with a base salary of $2 million, a PPV (Pay-per-view) payout of $600,000 and sponsorship earnings of $42,000, MMA Salaries report. Alex Pereira is expected to earn $332,000. Israel Adesanya and Pereira fought twice as kickboxers with the Brazilian winning both times.
Although his kickboxing career ended with a loss, Adesanya engaged in a total of 80 fights out of which he won 75. One of his most controversial fights was for the Glory Middleweight championship at Glory 37: Los Angeles where he defeated his opponent Jason Wilnis by unanimous decision.
In his UFC debut in 2018, Adesanya earned about $153,000. His fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 234 in 2019 saw him going home with about $178,000. Israel Adesanya also received a total of $490,000 for beating Robert Whittaker for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 243. He got about $642,000 in the rematch. Adesanya took home $1.8 million in his last successful title defense against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.
Israel started training in kickboxing at the Universal College of Learning in Whanganui, where he also enrolled for a degree in Computer science. He, however, dumped the pursuit of his academics to focus more on grooming his new-found love for Kickboxing which was largely inspired by Ong-Bak, an action movie starring Tony Jaa, in 2008.
Beginning his professional career as a kickboxer in 2010, Israel Adesanya won his first fight defeating Tim Atonio by unanimous decision. He also went on to win six more amateur fights fighting almost exclusively with Wu Lin Feng in China. After getting eliminated from the semifinals of the 2014 Kunlun Fight 80 kg tournament, ‘Izzy’ moved on to join the noted kickboxing promotion, Glory Kickboxing.
MMA Career Contributes To Israel Adesanya’s Net Worth
Israel’s current base salary is estimated at $1 million per fight. He is said to have one of the most lucrative contracts in the history of MMA following a recent contract he signed offering him a base salary of $1,000,000 when beating Robert Whittaker at UFC 271. He reportedly earned a whopping $1,542,000 from his rematch with Whittaker. This figure, of course, takes into account the pay-per-view and sponsorship shares the champion gets from headlining the card.
RAW!!! https://t.co/8dkS1H1jry
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) April 10, 2023
In his recent fight to win the middleweight belt title against Alex Pereira in April 2023, Israel reportedly earned $3.1 million (2.8 million euros) for this victory. This includes 1 million dollars for the fight itself, $2 million dollars from the revenue of the Per Pay View (PPV) and $50,000 dollars for signing the best performance of UFC 287. Added to his massive income from the match, Adesanya also received the Performance of the Night award
He began grooming his passion for martial arts in his early school years when he enrolled in its Taekwondo after-school club until he was removed by his mother due to an injury. Israel was not initially interested in sports, but he chose to perfect himself in martial arts just to ward off bullies back in his high school years.
As an amateur, he went on to amass a record of 32–0 before turning professional and fighting in China. At the age of 21, Israel Adesanya relocated to Aukland in New Zealand, where he began training in mixed martial arts under City Kickboxing’s Eugene Bareman. There he met future UFC fighters such as Dan Hooker, Kai Kara-France and current UFC Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanovski. While doing that, he also got trained in wrestling under Andrei Păuleț – a Romanian New Zealander.
As at the time of writing this piece, the 34-year-old has engaged in 28 matches from which he has won 26 times and lost only twice in his professional mixed martial arts career. While it is not clear how much Israel has accumulated from his 12 years career in the MMA, there is no doubt that his earnings are massive enough to influence his current net worth.
Boxing Also Contributes To Israel Adesanya’s Net Worth
Adesanya began his professional boxing career in November 2014 against two-time Australian champion Daniel Ammann. He was granted one of two wildcards to enter the inaugural cruiserweight Super 8 Boxing Tournament. He suffered a controversial loss via unanimous decision after he looked to have outpointed Ammann in the quarter-finals.
In May 2015, Israel got into the Super 8 Tournament held at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch. It was the other cruiserweight series, with the winner getting NZD 25,000 and a new car. However, he won his first professional fight against fellow New Zealander Asher Derbyshire as the first seed.
Adesanya knocked out his opponent in the second round. In the second fight of the tournament, he won a majority decision against Lance Bryant. In the tournament final, he defeated Brian Minto by split decision. His Professional boxing record says he has won five out of six matches and his amazing career as a boxer has earned him a reasonable income enough to boost his net worth.
Israel Adesanya’s Endorsement Deals
Israel Adesanya is endorsed by several huge global companies. The former UFC Middleweight Champion became the first ever MMA fighter to land a sponsorship deal with Pum – one of the world’s leading athletic apparel brands. ‘Izzy’ signed a deal with the sporting giant back in September 2020, a partnership that is still going on today.
Besides Puma being his main sponsor, ‘The Last Stylebender’ also has an endorsement deal with fight gear supplier, Engage. He partnered with the extremely popular Call of Duty in November 2020. As a self-confessed avid gamer, this endorsement deal was huge for his career.
List of Israel Adesanya’s Endorsements
- Puma
- Engage
- Call of Duty