According to a press release today, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will hold a press conference on December 15th to announce plans for an event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The promotion last held an event in Brazil, in the city of São Paulo, at UFC: “Ultimate Brazil” on October 16, 1998.
Textual, the UFC’s public relations representatives in Brazil, also announced that past and present UFC stars Anderson Silva, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Jose Aldo, Vitor Belfort and Royce Gracie will all be in attendance at the press conference, which will be held at the Palácio da Cidade.
The UFC has never before held an event in the city of Rio de Janeiro, but a return to Brazil fits right in with the company’s expansion around the world. Some of the UFC’s top stars and champions are of Brazilian descent and an event in the country could draw a significant crowd. Should the event take place in the second half of 2011, it will be close to 13 years since the Ultimate Fighting Championship last came to Brazil.
The press release stated that UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, UFC President Dana White and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes will hold a joint press conference on December 15th at Paes’s residence, the Palácio da Cidade, to formally announce plans for the event. No proposed timetable was listed for the Rio de Janeiro card, but a date in 2011 would seem likely.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)