Politics
Dana White reveals UFC Africa is ‘very realistic in the next five years’ and says it’s ‘very big’ on his bucket list
DANA WHITE admits bringing the UFC to Africa is “very big” on his bucket list – and he reckons he’ll do so within “the next five years.”
The sport of mixed martial arts has experienced a seismic boom in the continent in recent years and the region has become a huge emerging market for the UFC.
The sport of MMA has exploded in Africa due to the UFC’s African-born starsGETTY
UFCThe UFC – MMA’s top promotion – currently boasts three African champions[/caption]
APAnd UFC president Dana White is desperate to bring the promotion to Africa[/caption]
MMA’s rapid growth in the region has been in no small part down to Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya and Francis Ngannou capturing the UFC’s welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight titles.
White is all too aware of the growing demand for the promotion touch down on the continent and is hellbent on making the dreams of African fans – and that of several fighters on the roster – a reality.
When asked for a timeline for the UFC’s first African event, White told SunSport: “It’s very realistic in the next five years.”
Staging a card on the continent is high on White’s bucket list, which is fast becoming smaller and smaller.
READ MORE UFC NEWS
The 52-year-old admitted: “It’s very big for me, it’s a must. I have to get it done.
“It’s not just, ‘Oh, I’d like to do it.’ It’s f***ing, ‘I gotta get this done.’”
The UFC have three ready-made headliners for their inaugural African card – even if Usman, Adesanya and Ngannou all lose their belts.
When asked if he had any idea who would headline the card, he said with a smile on his face a slight laugh: “Most likely with an African headlining [it] would be nice.”
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
Most read in MMA
The right showpiece fight for a maiden African event could prove to be as historic for the UFC – and indeed MMA in general – as The Rumble in the Jungle in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1974.
White agrees with that notion wholeheartedly, saying: “100 per cent – exactly.”
Fighting on African soil is very high on the bucket list of Nigerian-born Kiwi Adesanya, who told SunSport earlier this year: “100 per cent [it’s something I have to tick off].
“Because what me, Kamaru and Francis are doing right now is history. So there’s got to be a way to cement that for us, for our people.
“And I feel like doing a card in the continent, the great continent of Africa, would be the one.
Read More on The Sun
The UFC’s commitment to the African market has Adesanya, and many others, believing it’s only a matter of time before the continent has its first event in the books.
He said: “They’ve known about it for a while, so it’s gonna happen. It’s just climates of things need to align properly. So yeah, it’ll happen.”
