Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland are both trash-talkers in their own right. The latter is known for controversial statements, while Adesanya’s style is more stone-cold aggression. Both are ready to let their fists do the talking when they fight for Adesanya’s UFC middleweight title at UFC 293 on September 9.
UFC 293 takes place at Qudos Bank Arena in Australia and airs on ESPN+ PPV in the U.S.
Both men already have a history. At the UFC 276 press conference – where they were gearing up for separate fights – the pair crossed paths, calling one another every insult in the book and planting seeds for a future collision.
Known for dismissing the opposition's talk by dominating within the cage, Adesanya will look to do the same if Strickland, a known instigator, speaks during the fight.
"If he's talking to me, he's gonna get his jaw broken... Cause when you're talking, you're not focused on the task at hand... look at Costa,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel via Sportskeeda.
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Regarding the Costa fight, Paulo tried to goad Adesanya into the cage, and the champion humiliated him after beating him via TKO. Since that fight, Adesanya is 4-2 and ready to dominate another obstacle in his way.
Strickland is 2-2 in his last four fights and is on a two-fight win streak. A wrestler, he will look to adapt to Adesanya’s style and defy the (literal) odds against him and his detractors.
The Sporting News looks into the purse history and net worth of the fighters and what they may earn at UFC 293.
Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland fight purse, prize money
The official UFC 293 purse has not been released, but previous payouts for Adesanya and Strickland could help provide insight into how much they will earn in their fight.
Adesanya earned roughly $153,000 in his UFC debut in 2018, per The Sports Daily. When he fought Anderson Silva at UFC 234 in 2019, Adesanya reportedly earned about $178,000. Beating Robert Whittaker for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 243, Adesanya earned $490,000, and he walked away with roughly $642,000 in the rematch. Per Sports Zion, Adesanya took home $1.8 million against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.
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Against Alex Pereira at UFC 281, where he lost the UFC middleweight title, Adesaya earned about $1.79 million, per Total Sportal. Per Total Sportal, Adesanya took home over $3 million in the rematch at UFC 287, while also earning a Performance of the Night bonus.
Via estimates from The Sports Daily, Strickland made $16,000 in his UFC debut in 2014. Facing Kamaru Usman in 2017, he earned $37,000. Strickland reportedly made the highest payday of his career (at the time) in 2020, when he beat Brendan Allen and took home $144,000. MMA Salaries had Strickland earning $116,000 in his loss against Pereira in 2022.
Per Inside Sport, Strickland took home $321,000 in his last fight in July, beating Abusupiyan Magomedov via TKO.
What is Israel Adesanya’s net worth?
Per Celebrity Net Worth, Adesanya is worth about $4 million.
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Comparing him with other champions in the UFC, Jon Jones has a net worth of about $3 million, while Leon Edwards' net worth is about $1.5 million.
What is Sean Strickland's net worth?
Per Media Referee, Strickland had a net worth of $1 million.