SAN JOSE, Calif. – UFC president Dana White didn’t stick around for one of his traditional post-fight scrums on Saturday night UFC on FOX 12, leaving during the middle of the press conference at the SAP Center.
But he dropped one news item of note before he bolted: The rescheduled Jose Aldo Jr. vs. Chad Mendes featherweight title fight will take place in Brazil in Oct.
While a date and location was not announced, UFC 179 is scheduled for Oct. 25 in Rio de Janeiro.
The rematch between Aldo, who has been featherweight champ dating back to winning the WEC belt in 2009, and Mendes, was originally scheduled for UFC 176 in Los Angeles on Aug. 2. But the bout was postponed and the entire card scrapped after Aldo suffered a neck injury in training.
Mendes had campaigned to keep the bout in the United States, but with the other dates on the calendar filling up and with the need for a big fight to headline Brazil, he didn’t get his wish.
This will be the second time the pair have fought in Brazil. The first fight, at UFC 142, ended with Aldo (24-1), the winner of 17 fights in a row, winning via a knockout knee with one second left in the opening round.
Since then, Mendes has won five consecutive fights, four via finish. His most recent win was over Nik Lentz in Sacramento on Dec. 14.