UFC 271 confidential – The latest intel on fighter pay and the futures of Francis Ngannou and Amanda Nunes

UFC 271 culminated with Israel Adesanya defending his middleweight title with a second victory over Robert Whittaker. Rising stars Jared Cannonier and Tai Tuivasa both earned major victories in Houston as well, and set themselves up for major fights and potential title shots late this year.

Thus far, 2022 has seen two of the UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighters successfully defend their place atop their respective divisions. The next step is less clear for some of the UFC’s other top stars, as the fate of fighters like Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz continues to hang in the balance.

While there are many questions left lingering after Saturday, fighters, coaches and agents had a lot to say in Houston about several key topics moving forward, including what the future holds for UFC champions Francis Ngannou and Amanda Nunes, the ongoing issues and opportunities with compensation inside and outside the UFC, and how judging in MMA could be improved.

The ongoing drama with fighter pay in the UFC

Israel Adesanya was on the dais Wednesday at media day and gave an interesting answer about the new contract extension he signed earlier in the week with the UFC. After Adesanya spoke about how “crazy” the deal was and that it probably makes him the No. 2 highest-paid active fighter on the UFC roster, the promotion’s middleweight champion added that he believes the agreement will also help his peers.

“With everything that’s happening right now, this will trickle down to the rest of the fighters,” Adesanya said.

How much UFC fighters get paid has been a hot-button issue for many years. UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, a close friend of Adesanya’s, has been very vocal about his problems with compensation and the restrictions of a UFC contract as he eyes a potential move to boxing and the financial windfall that would come with it.

There’s someone else who has drummed up even more conversation about this topic: Jake Paul.

The YouTube star-turned-boxer has targeted the UFC,…