UFC President Dana White has recently hinted at the possibility of the promotion starting a new division in Africa by the name of UFC Africa.
The MMA community has been discussing the possibility of organizing a UFC event in Africa. However, no fight card has been assigned to the continent.
There is a strong possibility of a UFC event in Africa as three of UFC star champions are of Africa origin. UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman a Nigerian-American; middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is a Nigerian-New Zealander; heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is also a is French-Cameroonian.
Francis Ngannou recently made history by becoming the first African to get honoured with the title of the “baddest man on the planet”. He also won the coveted UFC heavyweight title at UFC 260 (March 2021).
In a recent interview, Dana White mentioned the possibility of a special UFC Africa given the increasing demand for it.
When asked about how close UFC is to hosting UFC Africa, Dana said it is a thought that has crossed the his mind.
“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.”
Dana White suggested that UFC is unlikely to put forth an event in Africa this year. However, there is a possibility of the event taking place in 2022 and 2023.
Might feature three title fights
If Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya, and Francis Ngannou manage to retain their respective titles until 2022/2023, the UFC Africa event that’ll occur in that timeframe could feature not just one, but three titles fight with the reigning African champions.