UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is pushing for the UFC to hold an event in South Africa by late 2025, expressing confidence that his home country could be ready by then.
Du Plessis, who will defend his title against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 this weekend, has long been an advocate for growing the sport on the continent. However, the logistics of organizing a UFC event in Africa present unique challenges.
Du Plessis told ESPN: "Going on promises is not going to get us anywhere, but I speak to the Minister of Sports in South Africa (Gayton McKenzie) and he's speaking to the UFC. It's going to happen - I just hope that it's sooner [rather] than later.
"We are trying to push for maybe at the end of this year, but every time two months goes by, the UFC plans their events in advance. I understand from the UFC's point of view, there's a lot of things that needs to happen.
"You have to work with the local government; you need to figure all that stuff out, but we're working on it. It's a big must."
Specifically, the lack of suitable stadia [that is, with a retractable roof] in South Africa has proven to be a stumbling block. UFC president Dana White has long voiced a desire to host an event in Africa, but has expressed concerns about the weather and available facilities.
White told reporters, after being asked why he was unable to follow through on his pledge to host du Plessis' next fight in South Africa, after he defended his title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305: "We're trying to figure it out.
"The place that we would have to do it at is outdoors, and you know how I feel about that. So I've been trying to figure out the weather and one of the big things that I've been hearing out there is that wind is a big problem.
"We've done it a couple times, but anything that could affect the outcome of the fight makes me not even want to try. And it's anything, from wind, rain, bugs, too much humidity. A lot of things can interfere with the fight."
Speaking to ESPN, Du Plessis acknowledged the presence of challenges but insisted that South Africa has proven it is capable of making a plan for a sporting event of any magnitude.
"South Africa's hosted the Rugby World Cup. It's hosted the FIFA World Cup. We're more than capable of hosting these massive events. We've hosted massive concerts. We have massive, massive stadiums, but they [the UFC] don't do open-air," du Plessis said.
"We are sorting that problem out and for me, being the guy to bring it to Africa and more importantly, to bring it to me as a South African would mean the world."