UFC Africa: Senegal, the first country to host a historic event on the continent
UFC Africa: Senegal, the first country to host a historic event on the continent
1. The Dakar Arena, an ideal venue for the UFC
The UFC is looking for a room with a capacity of 12 to 000 seats to organize its first event in Africa. The Dakar Arena, located in Diamniadio, about 20 km from the Senegalese capital, is a modern hall with a capacity of 000 seats. Inaugurated in August 35, it has already hosted major sporting events such as the FIBA Women's Afrobasket in 15 and the Basketball Africa League (BAL) regular season in 000 and 2018.
2. Senegal, an attractive tourist destination
Senegal is a popular tourist destination, particularly for its beaches, its cultural richness and its historical sites. By organizing a UFC event in Africa, the organization wants to attract fans from all over the world and promote the destination to an international audience.
3. The presence of local and African talents
The UFC already has several African champions, such as Israel Adesanya, Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman. By hosting an event on the continent, the organization hopes to shine a light on other local talent and contribute to the development of mixed martial arts in Africa.
4. The experience of NBA in Africa
The NBA is heavily involved in the development of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and has already organized several events in Africa. The UFC intends to rely on this experience and the contacts made by the NBA to facilitate the organization of its first event on the continent.
5. An opportunity to develop UFC in Africa
UFC President Dana White has expressed his desire to hold an event in Africa as soon as possible. He sees this as an important step in expanding the UFC brand to different territories around the world. Organizing an event in Senegal would therefore be an opportunity to develop the UFC in Africa and attract new fans on the continent.
Senegal seems like the perfect choice to host the first UFC event in Africa. The presence of a modern and adapted room, the tourist popularity of the country, the local talents and the experience of the NBA are all assets that could make this event a real success. UFC fans and mixed martial arts enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting this historic first on the African continent.
Senegal is the UFC's first choice to host its first event on the African continent, considered a "significant event". Africa is the only continent that has yet to host UFC fights, but the organization hopes to remedy that next year by using the Dakar Arena.
Lawrence Epstein, UFC's chief operating officer, told BBC Sport Africa that the organization has long considered an event on the continent. Arena capacity is an important factor, and the Dakar Arena, one of the largest venues in sub-Saharan Africa, meets these expectations.
Senegal is at the top of the list to host the event, and the next step will be to send an operational team to assess the room and the necessary infrastructure. The Dakar Arena, located in Diamniadio, about 35 km from Dakar, was inaugurated in August 2018 and has a capacity of 15 seats.
The UFC would thus join the NBA as a major American sports organization with a presence in West Africa. The UFC's priority is to provide entertainment in addition to fighting, in order to attract fans from all over the world.
The event might not include a world title fight, as these usually take place during prime time for the US market, which would be the middle of the night in Africa. However, the UFC is also looking to scout local talent and is considering other destinations in Africa, such as Nigeria, for future events.