Israel Adesanya Claims He Is Getting Paid ‘Substantially More’ Than Robert Whittaker

Israel Adesanya believes he’s the main draw at UFC 243 — which is why he claims he is getting paid more than middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

The pair will collide in a middleweight title unification fight at UFC 243 this Saturday in what promises to be the biggest fight in Australasian history. It will also be taking place at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium which has a 55,000 capacity.

For Adesanya, he’s the only reason why that venue was chosen:

“If it was Rob or anyone else…it could be Robert/Romero part 3, it could be Rob and Chris Weidman, it could be Rob and anyone else, it would not be at Marvel Stadium,” Adesanya said in an interview with Submission Radio (via MMA News). “It would not be in that kind of an echelon, that kind of a capacity, because it’s just Rob. But at the same time, this is me.”

Whittaker is not usually one for trash talking or promotion for that matter. So it’s all on Adesanya to carry the card which he is fine with. After all, he claims to be getting paid more than “The Reaper” for a reason:

“We have to just be honest. We can’t just lie about it,” Adesanya added. “I’ve been the one pushing the culture forward for fighting down here with my team. And he, unfortunately, hasn’t been because, unfortunately, he’s been pulling out sick.

“And that’s OK. I called in sick back in my old job once in a while. I know the vibes. But, yeah, I’m the one pushing the culture forward, so let’s put it this way: if it was anyone else with Rob, it would not be in Marvel stadium. It wouldn’t sell out the way it has been. But because it’s me, that’s why.

“There’s a reason why I’m getting paid more than him, substantially more than him. There’s a reason why my stock is much higher than him.”

What do you make of Adesanya’s comments?