Is The UFC Coming to Africa?

Coming off a spectacular performance in his knockout victory over Alex Pereira at UFC 287, Israel Adesanya gave a chilling message to an unnamed contender in the middleweight division.

Adesanya says he wants to “drag someone’s carcass across Africa” in his post-fight presser. This is coming after South African UFC middleweight Dricus Du Plessis made a statement that involved naming himself the future African champion of the UFC. Will Adesanya’s next UFC fight be against the upcoming South African brawler?

DOES MATCHMAKING MAKE SENSE?

Du Plessis is a 29-year-old MMA fighter out of South Africa with a record of 19-2 in his professional career. He is currently 5-0 in the UFC, with his last win coming over Derek Brunson in March of 2023.

After stopping Brunson in the second round of their bout, Du Plessis took to the mic to state his case for a middleweight title shot. Does he deserve the title shot after beating two past-primed fighters in Brunson and Darren Till?

If you look at the UFC middleweight rankings, Du Plessis is sitting all the way at #6 right now. The only issue is that the champion, Adesanya, has beaten the other five fighters ranked ahead of him – some more than once.

Strictly looking at it from a marketing standpoint, this is a cool fight to have and to host in Africa. The UFC has been discussing an event in Africa for years now, and they have already missed the chance for three African champions on the card. Now, they can at least get an African main event with a title on the line.

Along with the symbolism of this matchup, the rivalry storyline is heating up. Adesanya wants to see Du Plessis get another good win, but it was also stated by Dana White himself that Adesanya is already bugging the company about when he can fight next. Is this the fight to make?

Looking at this matchup from a technical standpoint, Adesanya is clearly the better fighter and will most likely be a massive betting favorite to open up the lines if the fight ever gets made.

Du Plessis is more of a bodybuilder and a good athlete that likes to fight right now. Adesanya is a battle-tested, longtime mixed martial artist with hours of experience in combat against the best of the best.

WHERE COULD HOST THE UFC?

The first venue that comes to mind would be the Sun Arena Time Square in Pretoria, South Africa. This multi-purpose arena was built in 2017 and is very beautiful to look at, providing a great experience for all fans.

It only holds around 10,000 fans at once, so that is the only issue. We know that Dana White is against holding events in soccer stadiums for some reason, so that is a long shot to get this event at a soccer stadium in Africa.

POSSIBLE OUTCOMES

If the UFC can get an event done in Africa in 2023, it could potentially be one of the biggest moves in the company’s history. Africa is full of potential talented athletes that don’t have the resources or the ability to follow the martial arts path and train.

Seeing how much support the African culture would have with the UFC and their own people fighting on the big stage would make the UFC want to do more business on African soil.

Along with the main event, there are about ten other African fighters that can make an appearance on this card, along with fighters from Europe and Asia who can perform somewhere new and closer to their homes.

The opening lines of the main event would probably have Adesanya as at least a -500 betting favorite over Du Plessis. That’s the main reason that it would be best if the young South African prospect secured a big win over a top 5 fighter in the middleweight division first.

ALSO READ: UFC Africa: Will it Happen, When, and Where?