The UFC are pressing forward with plans to extend the promotion’s reach around the globe, and according to Dana White at yesterday’s UFC 150 press conference both South Africa and India are now on their radar.
India is a destination that White has mentioned before and has been suggested as a possible target for a series of The Ultimate Fighter, but yesterday he confirmed that they also hope to hold a UFC event there, “very soon.”
South Africa is a new addition to the UFC’s overseas map however, and while an event there may not happen right away, they are planning to lay the groundwork for it by establishing a presence on television over their after learning of the appetite there is for the sport in the region.
“Actually, mixed martial arts is huge in South Africa right now,” White told reporters. “There’s a show down there now [Extreme Fighting Championship] that I just heard about that is doing 1.2 million viewers every time it’s on. So the sport is booming all over the world, and yeah, South Africa is next. That’s where we’re going.”
So far this year the UFC has gone on international trips to Brazil, Sweden, Australia and Japan, with the UK also now set to host a show in September.
Beyond that much of the promotion’s schedule for the remainder of the year is still to be fleshed out and so there could be more overseas adventures on the horizon, with China being a strong possibility.
