Dana White with Riotur president Antonio Pedro at UFC Rio 134 press conference / Photo: Textual/publicity
The UFC roadshow looks set to return to Rio de Janeiro with another solid card after next October. At least if it’s up to the city’s municipal government.
Yesterday evening, Rio de Janeiro Secretary of Tourism Antonio Pedro Figueira de Mello had a chat about it with GRACIEMAG.com.
He said he agrees with fans that the card for the second UFC Rio is weaker than the first, which drew 14,000 fight fans to the HSBC Arena last August.
“The card is indeed not as strong as the last, although there are some really interesting matchups. The thing is, the January 14, 2012 show is just UFC 142, not another UFC Rio like the first, with all the publicity and attention from the media. UFC Rio along the lines of the first one will only be back in the city towards the end of the year, at around October, and we’ll invest in bringing another unforgettable card. There should be other UFCs around Brazil in 2012 before UFC Rio, and we’ll wrap up the Brazilian season with UFC Rio,” he remarked.
Tickets for UFC 142, headlined by featherweights José Aldo and Chad Mendes, go on sale this month, likely on the 14th, one month before the show. The precise day will be announced on the coming 13th, a Tuesday, at the pre-event press conference, where UFC president Dana White, Aldo and Vitor Belfort will be on the dais.
Check out the UFC events to follow Saturday’s card, according to press releases so far:
UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem
December 30, 2011
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
UFC 142: Aldo vs Mendes
January 14, 2012
HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis
January 28, 2012
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
UFC 143: Diaz vs Condit
February 4, 2012
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
UFC on Fuel TV 1
February 15, 2012
CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska
UFC 144: Edgar vs Henderson
February 26, 2012
Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan
UFC on FX 2
March 4, 2012
Allphones Arena, Sydney, Australia