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Tim Simpson, senior vice president of Paradigm Sports, has hinted that Israel Adesanya benefited from the UFC's contract issues with Francis Ngannou.
In the days prior to UFC 271, it was reported that Israel Adesanya had signed on the dotted line and received a new contract with MMA's premier promotion. It will supposedly see him become one of the top earners in the UFC, right behind the sport's biggest star Conor McGregor.
Francis Ngannou, as we all know, has had his fair share of issues with the UFC when it comes to getting the kind of pay and treatment he feels like he deserves as the heavyweight champion of the world.
When asked about the potential link between the two cases during an appearance on The MMA Hour, the aforementioned Simpson admitted a connection is likely.
Ariel Helwani asked whether Paradigm had "leverage" over the UFC as a result of them wanting to avoid Adesanya being a free agent whilst still being the champion. Simpson responded:
“I don’t think they showed that card, like, they would never say that to me, but I think that’s a reasonable conclusion to come to. I hate to feel like we profited off of Francis’ situation, because everyone is so different and I don’t know the inner workings of that, but I think that would be a logical conclusion.”
Catch Simpson's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
The next chapter for Israel Adesanya
It's safe to say that Israel Adesanya will be part of the UFC family for quite some time now that he's signed a new deal. However, the division he fights in is an entirely different conversation.
His narrow decision win over Robert Whittaker last weekend, combined with Jared Cannonier's triumph over Derek Brunson, sets the two victors up perfectly for a clash later this year, potentially as soon as June.
If he's able to win that, you could argue he's already cleaned out the division. He's already dared to be great on one occasion by jumping up to light heavyweight to take on Jan Blachowicz. If there are no more challenges left at 185 pounds, he may give 205 another crack.
At the same time, the rise of Sean Strickland could well throw a spanner into the works.
