UFC CEO Dana White has long planned to expand UFC to Africa, but it seems that many challenges are halting his plans.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is a South African fighter who has been vocal about his plans to take UFC to Africa. Dana White also bought into this idea and promised the fighter that if he retained his title, he would bring the promotion to South Africa. Du Plessis kept his end of the promise and defeated Nigerian fighter Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. However, it seems White will be going back on his word. The CEO has encountered several bumps in bringing this plan to fruition.
“You know how bad I want this,” White told reporters after the most recent episode of Contender Series. “I’ve been trying to get this thing done. The arena situation there is tough. It’s tough to pull off. So that’s been the challenge with Africa as a whole. We’re trying to figure it out.”
The UFC has always had plans of expanding to Africa for years. The idea dates back to Francis Ngannou’s heavyweight title reign but the idea has been on hold due to the continent’s arena infrastructural problems
“The place that we would have to do it is outdoors, and you know how I feel about that. So I’ve been trying to figure out the weather. One of the big things that I’ve been hearing out there is that wind is a big problem. We’ve done it a couple of times. Anything that could affect the outcome of the fight makes me not even want to try. And it’s anything, from wind, rain, bugs, too much humidity. A lot of things can interfere with the fight.”
Although no plans have been made yet for UFC’s Expansion to Africa, the promotion still has plans for Dricus Du Plessis. The promotion has confirmed Du Plessis’s opponent to be Sean Strickland. The middleweight division has experienced a surge in fighters, the most popular among them is Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev. The two are set to battle at the UFC 308. Despite this amount of worthy opponents, White believes the best opponent for Du Plessis is former champion Sean Strickland.
Du Plessis and Strickland fought each other for the middleweight title at UFC 297. Du Plessis won this bout via split decision but it seems it is time for Strickland to get another chance at reclaiming the title.
