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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The UFC is heading to Brazil for an Aug. 27 show at the HSBC Arena in Rio.
UFC president Dana White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta made the announcement Wednesday.
The UFC has not held an event in Brazil since Ultimate Brazil in Sao Paulo in October 1998, before the current ownership group took over the organization.
That card was between UFC 17 and 18.
"This is another giant step forward in our global expansion and in growing UFC into the biggest sport in the world," Fertitta said in a statement. "By bringing world-class fights back to Brazil, we not only secure a foothold in a major international market but we also give back to the people who have supported UFC for nearly 20 years."
The UFC has 36 Brazilian fighters under contract including current champions Anderson Silva (middleweight), Mauricio (Shogun) Rua (light-heavyweight) and Jose Aldo (featherweight).
The UFC attracted more than 23,000 to Montreal's Bell Centre for UFC 124 on Saturday, a record MMA crowd for North America. That record is expected to be erased April 30 in Toronto by UFC 131 at the Rogers Centre.
NOTES: Also on hand at the press conference was Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Royce Gracie, who said in Portuguese he was happy to happy to have (a UFC event) back in Brazil where more than 65 years ago his father Helio Gracie first established the sport.
UFC president Dana White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta made the announcement Wednesday.
The UFC has not held an event in Brazil since Ultimate Brazil in Sao Paulo in October 1998, before the current ownership group took over the organization.
That card was between UFC 17 and 18.
"This is another giant step forward in our global expansion and in growing UFC into the biggest sport in the world," Fertitta said in a statement. "By bringing world-class fights back to Brazil, we not only secure a foothold in a major international market but we also give back to the people who have supported UFC for nearly 20 years."
The UFC has 36 Brazilian fighters under contract including current champions Anderson Silva (middleweight), Mauricio (Shogun) Rua (light-heavyweight) and Jose Aldo (featherweight).
The UFC attracted more than 23,000 to Montreal's Bell Centre for UFC 124 on Saturday, a record MMA crowd for North America. That record is expected to be erased April 30 in Toronto by UFC 131 at the Rogers Centre.
NOTES: Also on hand at the press conference was Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Royce Gracie, who said in Portuguese he was happy to happy to have (a UFC event) back in Brazil where more than 65 years ago his father Helio Gracie first established the sport.
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