UFC to Announce First Ever Rio de Janeiro Show
Marcelo Alonso Dec 7, 2010
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photo: Sherdog.com
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and President Dana White are set to travel to Rio de Janeiro next week, where they will announce, in conjunction with Mayor Eduardo Paes, the first UFC event ever to hit the city.
Fertitta, White and Paes will make the announcement on Wednesday, Dec. 15, at Paes’ official residence, the Palacio da Cidade. Textual, the company responsible for the UFC’s public relations in Brazil, confirmed the press conference on Monday.
According to Textual, UFC champions Anderson Silva, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Jose Aldo will also be in attendance, along with middleweight contender Vitor Belfort and MMA legend Royce Gracie.
The UFC has not held an event in Brazil in over a decade. The promotion’s last trip to the largest country in South America was 1998’s “Ultimate Brazil” -- also known as UFC 17.5 -- which took place in Sao Paulo. That show was highlighted by a clash of countrymen Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, with Belfort scoring a technical knockout over “The Axe Murderer” in just 44 seconds.
