The UFC going to Africa is still a focus for UFC president Dana White.
According to White, dealings with Cameroonian-French fighter and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou are off the table. “He’ll never be in the UFC again,” White said about Ngannou, who became a free agent in January after failed negotiations with the company.
Even though the two parties have parted ways, White said hosting an event in Africa is still a priority for him, despite losing one of the continent’s most popular fighters, and having no current champions with African ties.
“We absolutely will,” White told reporters in a media scrum after the UFC 285 ceremonial weigh-ins (via ESPN). “That doesn’t have anything to do with any one guy. That’s like saying we wouldn’t go back to Mexico without Cain Velasquez or something like that. We’re going everywhere, regardless. If you look at some of the fights that we put on with the nationalities, that sh*t was unheard of 30 years ago.”
Hosting an event in Africa has been in discussion for years. In September, White said an event would happen “very soon” although no targeted countries or cities were discussed publicly.
Until August 2022, the promotion had three champions from Africa: Nigerians Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya, along with Cameroonian Ngannou. With so much representation at the top, it seemed like a prime opportunity to bring an event to the continent, but it never came to fruition. Since then, Usman and Adesanya lost title fights and Ngannou exited the promotion, vacating the heavyweight throne.
Established African stars like Usman and Adesanya will have their shot at reclaiming their titles soon, and the talent pool from Africa is growing. White plans to invest in the region by bringing a UFC Performance Institute to Africa, in addition to hosting events.
“Africa is very, very on my radar,” White said. “Africa will get done. Not only will Africa get done before I’m done, we’ll have a PI in Africa before I’m done too.”
