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No. Despite some of the biggest names in MMA coming from Africa, the UFC has never hosted an event on the continent. Kamaru Usman (Nigerian-American) and Israel Adesanya (Nigerian-born New Zealander) are both former champions in the organization, and Francis Ngannou (Cameroonian) is currently the heavyweight champion.
Dana White has been open to the idea of hosting an Africa-based event in the past and Adesanya recently brought the topic back into the mainstream.
While speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Adesanya stated that despite potential issues including corruption in African countries, the former middleweight champion believes it's possible to host an event in Africa:
"We can do it. I just, I 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."
Watch Israel Adesanya speak about the potential issues around hosting an event in Africa:
As mentioned, Dana White is very open to the idea of hosting an event in Africa and has even stated that the UFC is currently having meetings about potential venues and cities to host the event.
While speaking to reporters at the UFC 279 post-event press conference, White stated:
"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."
What was the 'Three Kings' era in the UFC?
The idea of hosting an event in Africa was projected into the mainstream mainly during the 'Three Kings' era in the UFC. This was a moment in time when Africa had three concurrent champions within the MMA organization, with Francis Ngannou, Kamaru Usman, and Israel Adesanya all holding titles at the same time.
However, due to Adesanya and Usman recently losing their titles, the 'Three Kings' era is over, at least for now. 'The Last Stylebender' lost his middleweight crown after taking on Alex Pereira in his most recent outing, and Usman suffered a shocking final-round defeat against Leon Edwards at UFC 278.
Watch Israel Adesanya lose his middleweight crown here:
Francis Ngannou is still the heavyweight champion but has been sidelined due to injury. He also has contract issues currently clouding his reign as champion in the promotion.
