Nigeria-born UFC fighter Israel Adesanya is still eager for the UFC Africa event despite losing his UFC middleweight belt in November.
The 33-year-old lost his middleweight belt to Brazilian Alex Pereira following a fifth-round knockout in their fight at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The defeat was his first at the middleweight level and just the second of his inspiring MMA career so far.
In September, UFC President Dana White announced plans to bring the UFC to Africa in the near future in order to promote the sport globally.
White said: “We literally had a meeting the other day, and we’re seriously talking about Africa now. We’re starting to look at venues and cities to hold an event. Africa is going to happen very soon.”
In an interview on The MMA Hour, Adesanya spoke about the effects of bringing the UFC to the second-largest continent in the world and the impact of him and Usman losing their belts on the possibility of the event happening.
“No. F— no…F— the belt. Come on, man. We’re us. It’s us. What we’ve done is still etched in history forever. There are moments in history that will never, ever be — also, it’s not over. But, like I said, there’s moments in history that will never be captured again. That will never be replicated again, and I am very proud to say I was part of that. Or, I am part of that, because we’re still writing the book. This ain’t over. “Game ain’t over,” he said.
“I thought it was game over, but I guess we put in the coin again and play again,” Adesanya added.
Talking about the possible challenges to be faced while trying to organise the major event in Nigeria, The Last Stylebender replied by saying:
“We can do it. I just know my people. Too much greed, too much red tape, and too much corruption.
“But money talks, and the UFC has a lot of money. I’m being honest. I love my people, but the government? My people are beautiful people, but the government can be corrupt. Very corrupt. If they see dollar signs, it’ll be ‘OK, we need this and that,” I don’t know how all that s— works, but trust me: “Growing up in Nigeria, money talks.”
“We can build [an arena] … My people will,” he added.
With Adesanya and Usman losing their respective belts and Francis Ngannou’s contract situation still in doubt, “The Three Kings” have their work cut out for them but in the eyes of their fans and the African people, they are still kings.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, would likely be the best option for the UFC’s debut event in Africa as the UFC is filled with a lot of stars that are of Nigerian and African descents.
The former UFC middleweight champion is very confident that if the organisers finally decide to explore Africa, Nigeria will be ready to build a venue to host it.
