UFC 197 Announced for March 5 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s third pay-per-view of 2016 has a date and venue, as UFC 197 will take place on March 5 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

UFC Senior Vice President and General Manager of Brazil Giovani Decker confirmed the event following Saturday’s Fight Night card in Sao Paulo. No bouts were announced for the event. Decker also said that there will be approximately four events held in Brazil over the course of next year.

In recent months there were rumors of a UFC card scheduled for Curitiba in the first quarter of 2016. That event was to have included a heavyweight title rematch between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez as well as a middleweight showdown between Anderson Silva and Michael Bisping.

However, the UFC is reportedly considering moving the Werdum-Velasquez rematch to UFC 196 on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Decker said on Saturday night that there was nothing set regarding Silva’s next bout taking place in Brazil. “The Spider” is currently serving a one-year suspension for a failed drug test at UFC 183 but will be eligible to return in February.

The Las Vegas-based promotion’s pay-per-view itinerary kicks off with UFC 195 on Jan. 2 and continues with the aforementioned UFC 196, which like UFC 197, does not have an announced headliner.