Arena da Baixada, a Brazilian stadium with a capacity of over 42,000 seats will host UFC 198 on May 14, which is expected to be headlined by Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic.
UFC 198 finally has a venue, and not just any venue, as Portal do Vale Tudo reported the event will be hosted at a soccer stadium in Curitiba, Brazil. Arena da Baixada, the home of local soccer team Atletico Paranaense has a capacity of 42,372 and was one of the stadiums that hosted the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
Curitiba, the hometown of the original Chute Boxe team which produced names such as Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio Rua, will host its first UFC event, which many Brazilian fans believe is long overdue.
Fabricio Werdum, who trains with former Chute Boxe coach, Rafael Cordeiro, at Kings MMA, will likely look to defend his heavyweight belt against Stipe Miocic on May 14. Middleweight contenders Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Vitor Belfort will fight in the co-main event of the evening.
Other standouts like Demian Maia, Matt Brown and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will also be on the card.