Kamaru Usman’s moniker of “The Nigerian Nightmare” is one he carries with pride. And what would make Usman even more proud is to be a part of the UFC’s debut in the continent of Africa. When speaking in an appearance on the MMA Hour about whether Africa would show interest in a UFC arrival, Usman spoke without hesitation:
“Absolutely. And this is one thing I want to highlight as well. Great job to Darren Till. He’s really done a great job with the platform he’s been given. But you put him in Liverpool. The guy from Liverpool that you put there, that’s excelling, that’s doing well now. You trying to tell me, you don’t put me in Nigeria…or not just me, you put me, Francis, Israel, Razak anywhere in Africa, we will do a stadium. We do a stadium easy. Anywhere in Africa, we do a stadium easy.”
If Usman is so confident that anywhere in Africa could sell out a stadium, why would the UFC be hesitant to venture into this uncharted territory? Usman believes it’s because of false perceptions that depict the entire continent of Africa as poverty-ridden and worthless:
“We’re not really popular there because the sport hasn’t really tried to venture out. Because a lot of people see Africa as, oh, it’s a third-world [continent], oh, there’s no money there. But how can you say there’s no money there? Diamonds come from there. Gold comes from there. The only issue is that the money is there, but only a few people hold on to the money. So you’ve got half the percent that has the money, and then everybody else is living in poverty because they never let the money trickle down. But there’s money there. But they don’t see that opportunity. So they don’t see that opportunity. So, ‘why even market there? It’s a third-world country. We don’t care,’ things like that.” But we do a stadium easy.”
Usman is quick to provide an example for skeptics who may cling to the belief that Africa is incapable of serving as a market for the sport:
“I mean, George Foreman and Ali were willing to do that. And they went, and look how that turned out.”
The Rumble and the Jungle was a smash success. Fighters like Michael Bisping, Conor McGregor, and now Darren Till have helped shine a spotlight on the sport in Europe, but it can be argued that the sport would have eventually ventured throughout Europe regardless. But if Kamaru Usman is able to make such a pitch to Dana White and persuade the UFC brass to venture out into Africa, the Nigerian Nightmare would become an African charm who achieved something that perhaps wouldn’t have been for decades, if ever.
If there were to be a UFC card in Africa, what would you book as the main event of the card?
