Dana White takes a rough guess at when the first UFC event in Africa will take place
Dana White has taken a rough guess at when the first UFC event in Africa will take place.
The possibility of the UFC organizing an event in Africa is something that’s been discussed in the MMA community for many years. However, the organization is yet to put forth a fight card in Africa.
The UFC currently has three champions of African origin – UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, and UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Usman is Nigerian-American, Adesanya is a Nigerian-New Zealander, and Ngannou is French-Cameroonian.
Ngannou recently made history by becoming the first African fighter to earn the honor of being called the "baddest man on the planet," having won the coveted UFC heavyweight title at UFC 260 (March 2021).
Ever since The Predator’s heavyweight title victory, there have been calls for the UFC to give fans a special UFC Africa event sooner rather than later.
In an interview with BT Sport, UFC president Dana White opened up on the possibility of that happening.
BT Sport’s Adam Catterall recalled how UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou recently received a hero’s welcome upon arriving with the title in his native Cameroon.
On that note, Catterall asked Dana White how close the UFC is to organizing an event in Africa. White responded by stating:
“It’s gonna depend on what happens with all this COVID craziness, you know – How fast is the world gonna open up again and start being normal – Where people can start just traveling to other countries and putting on events in other countries. If I had to guess, I mean, I would say ’22 or ’23.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Dana White suggested that the UFC is unlikely to put forth an event in Africa this year but could organize events in 2022 and 2023.
The UFC Africa fight card could feature three title fights with reigning African champions
Provided that Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya and Francis Ngannou manage to retain their respective titles until 2022/2023, the UFC Africa event that’ll take place in that timeframe could feature not just one but three title fights with reigning African champions.
Presently, Usman is likely to defend his UFC welterweight title in a rematch against Colby Covington. Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya’s next UFC middleweight title defense will be a rematch against Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 (June 12th, 2021).
Francis Ngannou was expected to defend his UFC heavyweight title against MMA legend Jon Jones. However, Jones and the UFC have been involved in a dispute regarding how much he ought to be paid for the fight against Ngannou. As a result, the UFC is looking to book a rematch between Ngannou and Derrick Lewis as the former’s next title defense.