Dana White is making strides to bring UFC action to Africa, particularly with a potential middleweight title rematch between Sean Strickland and champion, Dricus Du Plessis. While hosting events in new locations is key to expanding the UFC’s global presence, White has hit some roadblocks in securing a suitable venue for this exciting matchup.
The UFC president has been eager to put on an event in Africa for a while, but the search for the right spot has proven to be a major challenge. With these obstacles, the dream of UFC Africa feels a bit further away, but White remains committed to making it happen in the future.
In the recent press conference following the conclusion of Dana White’s Contender Series, the head honcho shared his thoughts on why UFC Africa does not seem likely to take place this year.
Telling fans that he knows how much they want a card in the African continent, White assured them that he’s been trying to make it actualize. But the arena they can host it at, is outdoors, which he is not a fan of.
“Yeah so you know how bad I want this. I have been trying to get this thing done. The arena situation there is tough. It’s tough to pull off. That has been the challenge with Africa as a whole, so I am trying to figure it out. The place that we would have to do it at is outdoors, and you know how I feel about that.”
White further added that anything that affects the outcome of a fight, be it the weather, humidity, bugs, or anything like that, he is not a big fan of.
Therefore, he does not want to make any effort in organizing events in such a location. Due to these factors, UFC Africa which was wanted badly by the likes of Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou during the reign of the Three Kings seems like a distant dream right now.
For Sean Strickland however, that is welcome news.
Strickland refuses to fight in South Africa
Even though former champion Robert Whittaker is set to face the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 in October, Dana White had already declared that Sean Strickland would get the next title shot.
This decision came despite Strickland having only won against Paulo Costa since his title loss in February. Strickland then kept a close eye on the UFC 305 main event, having previously shared the cage with both Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.
After Du Plessis’ win, he posted on X, “Time for war, Dutch man…”
However, when asked about the rematch’s location, Strickland dismissed the idea of the UFC’s inaugural event in Africa.
“Vegas, man. Let me fight in my country. Unless you want me to go fix South Africa. We can fight in front of a bunch of white people, lmao,”
What he means by fixing the entire country is better left to his own imagination because the world is better for it if it doesn’t pay attention to anything Strickland does outside the octagon.
