Israel Adesanya wants to help bring the UFC to the continent of Africa. Adesanya was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and would love to compete on the UFC’s first-ever card from the world’s second-largest continent. It appears that Adesanya has already spoken to UFC President Dana White about this. In an interview with ESPN, Adesanya said the project is already in the works.
With fellow African-born fighter Kamaru Usman fighting Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title next month, Usman has the opportunity to become the first-ever Nigerian UFC champion. If that were to happen, and Adesanya continues his rise in the 185-pound division, the timing could not be more perfect for a UFC event in Africa:
“It’s already in the works, we’ve been talking about it for a while,” Adesanya said. “I’ve talked to Dana (White) as well when I had my meeting with him. Eventually we’re going to have a lot of guys.
“Kamaru Usman is fighting for the title next; he’s a Nigerian-born fighter [and] he’s going to fight for the title next against Tyron Woodley, so he might be the first Nigerian UFC champion. But I don’t mind. I’ll be the second Nigerian UFC champion. That would be cool, to take it back to Africa.”
Adesanya is approaching the biggest fight of his career. He’ll face former UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva this weekend (Sat. February 10, 2019). Adesanya vs. Silva co-main events UFC 234 on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. In the main event, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will defend his title against Kelvin Gastelum.
The winner of the main event could very well see themselves defend the title against “Stylebender” next.
What do you think about the likes of Adesanya and Usman being a part of the UFC’s debut in Africa?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USVnAQOiMHs
