The UFC takes pride in being the leading MMA promotion across the world. Part of their success can be attributed to the variety the promotion offers. As well as having fighters from a host of different nations, the UFC does not shy away from international events. The UFC has had events in most of the continents – but never on African soil. In recent months, the fans have been calling for an event in Africa, and this movement only gained steam when Francis Ngannou obtained the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 260. #UFCAfrica began to quickly climb the ‘Trending Topics’ list on Twitter. It seems the event might just become a reality in a not-so-distant future.
In recent years, there has been a general interest in an African-hosted UFC event. The call for such an event grew when The Predator challenged and successfully defeated Stipe Miocic at the March 27th event earlier this year. Fighters and fans alike immediately began celebrating as this meant that the UFC now had a trio of African-born champions. It also helps that the trio consists of very popular fighters. Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya was born in Lagos, Nigeria, before eventually settling in New Zealand, but The Last Stylebender still represents his hometown in the UFC. Fellow Nigerian Kamaru Usman first became known to fans in the 21st season of The Ultimate Fighter and, since then, he has risen to become the Welterweight Champion and one of the most respected fighters in the promotion. The Nigerian Nightmare also happens to currently be #2 in the UFC Men’s Pound-for-Pound rankings. Cameroon-born Francis Ngannou would often be seen tweeting out support to the African-born champions so, upon his claiming of the Heavyweight Championship, many were excited to see him join the group. This immediately fueled the desire for a UFC event taking place in Africa in honor of the champions. UFC President, Dana White, has weighed in on the prospect and has mentioned that they are looking to add Africa to the 2022 calendar.
Whilst the African continent does not have an extensive list of international events, there are quite a few notable tournaments that happen within the continent. Such events include the African Games, the Africa Cup of Nations, as well as the Sunshine Tour. However, Africa has proved that it is more than capable of hosting marquee events of such great magnitude. South Africa is already being considered a fan favorite to host the UFC, and this is with good reason.
South Africa is often considered the powerhouse of the continent, and in the context of sports, this could be considered to be true. The nation has played host to all of the continent’s international events, including the 1997 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup, as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, South Africa is home to Africa’s lead MMA promotion in Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC Worldwide). Some alumni from the promotion have also had matches in the UFC itself. This could prove to be an opportunity for the two promotions to strengthen their working relationship, and both parties could be mutually beneficial to each other. In as much as South Africa is the country many believe could ultimately host, the rest of the African continent should not be dismissed so quickly.
The African continent could definitely be developed to be fit enough to host marquee events. The most recent example of this was the Basketball Africa League, which witnessed the best African basketball teams battle for supremacy in Kigali, Rwanda – many dubbed it “the NBA of Africa”. The tournament, although delayed by the pandemic, had it’s inaugural season last month. The tournament had an abundance of sponsorships and media coverage. The organizing bodies of the NBA and FIBA are already looking forward to a 2022 season. This further demonstrates Africa’s readiness to play host to some major international events.
The interest is there, the star power is there, and there probably has never been a better time to book a UFC Africa event than now.
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