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10 cities we want to see the UFC at in 2023

By Alec Arritola

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - MARCH 31: A UFC sign is seen on Copacabana beach to promote the UFC 237: Namajunas Vs. Andrade, on March 31, 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. UFC 237: Namajunas Vs. Andrade will take place on May 11 at Jeunesse Arena. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - MARCH 31: A UFC sign is seen on Copacabana beach to promote the UFC 237: Namajunas Vs. Andrade, on March 31, 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. UFC 237: Namajunas Vs. Andrade will take place on May 11 at Jeunesse Arena. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images) /

9. Lagos, Nigeria

Three superstars; three African UFC champions: Francis Ngannou, Kamaru Usman, and Israel Adesanya. In recent years, UFC viewership in Africa has consistently grown as stars like Ngannou and Usman represent Cameroon and Nigeria, opening up a new market for the UFC to target.  It is no secret that the UFC has never been to Africa, but president Dana White is highly optimistic about a future event on the continent and has stated his intent to bring a fight card to Africa.

“We literally just had a meeting the other day, and we’re seriously talking about Africa now,” White said at the UFC 279 post-fight press conference. “We’re actually starting to look at venues and cities to hold an event. So Africa is going to happen very soon.”

One potential location for the first UFC in Africa is Lagos, Nigeria. The birthplace of middleweight champion Adesanya, Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria and the most populous city in all of Africa, with an estimated population of 17.5 million. Lagos is among the fastest-growing cities in the world and is a major economic hub for Africa.

An ideal venue in Lagos could be the Teslim Balogun Stadium. With a capacity of 25,000, the Teslim Balogun Stadium mainly hosts soccer and rugby matches, with the most notable event being the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The Nigerian government plans to turn the stadium into an indoor arena as early as 2023, which would make the venue ideal as fighters would be in a controlled environment, and fans would likely be able to view the fight via screens.

Aside from Ngannou, Usman, and Adesanya, other African fighters that could appear at a UFC 2023 event in Africa include Lagos native Sodiq Yusuff, South African Dricus Du Plessis, Angolan Manel Kape, Cameroonian Tafon Nchukwi, Ghanan Abdul Razak Alhassan, Nigerian Kennedy Nzechukwu, Ugandan David Onama, and South African J.P. Buys.

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