UFC bringing Ultimate Fighter (TUF) to Sao Paulo as part of 2012 return to Brazil
by Adam Guillen Jr. on Sep 23, 2011 4:38 PM EDT
The UFC is headed back to the "motherland" of mixed martial arts.
Following the promotion's successful return to Brazil with UFC 134 back in August, which inluded top Brazilian fighters Anderson Silva, Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the world's largest fight promotion already has the gears in motion to debut in Sao Paulo in 2012 with another event and a possible edition of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
Tatame.com has it straight from Lorenzo Fertitta:
"We underestimated how popular it was here," he said. "If we could do it again, we would do it in a big soccer stadium, you know? But when we put the tickets on sale, we really didn't know. But it's been amazing the amount of support, it's unbelievable."
TATAME learned today that UFC plans an edition of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter in the city of São Paulo. And Fertitta, on an interview with TATAME, had confirmed their true intentions.
"We're working on that, we're really close to get something done," he told TATAME in August. "We think it's gonna be very successful - a Brazilian Ultimate Fighter, all Brazilian fighters. One thing that is great about this country is that you have so many great fighters, finding talents is easy. There are some many good kids."
Following the record sellout of UFC "Rio," which left many disappointed fans who could not get their hands on event tickets, the UFC is considering to hold its next event at Cicero Pompeu de Toledo stadium, which can accommodate up to 100,000 fans.
Filling that would be a record-breaking achievement.
UFC 129: "St. Pierre vs Shields," which was held at The Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, currently holds the record for the most attendees for a UFC event which stands at 55,000.
Given the success of UFC 134, next year's event could shatter that record.
