Republic of South Africa Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie announced that they are in the final stages of negotiations with UFC to bring an event to the country. However, the city where the event will be held is yet to be decided.
“I see news articles abt @UFC fight of @dricusduplessis happening in Cape Town, we are in final stages of negotiating that the fight happens in South Africa. We have not been given the green light. We will know by the end of October, no decision of hosting city can be made yet.”
I see news articles abt @UFC fight of @dricusduplessis happening in Cape Town, we are in final stages of negotiating that the fight happens in South Africa. We have not been given the green light. We will know by the end of October, no decision of hosting city can be made yet.
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) September 18, 2024
Last month, Dricus Du Plessis defeated Israel Adesanya via submission in round 4 to retain the UFC Middleweight Title at UFC 305. Prior to the event, UFC CEO Dana White stated at the press conference that he had an idea of holding an event in South Africa.
“If he can beat Izzy and bring that belt back to South Africa, obviously we’ll do an event there [South Africa].”