A special UFC Rio: Aldo vs. Mendes press conference with UFC president Dana White was held on Tuesday, December 13 to announce details of the event, scheduled for January 14th at HSBC Arena.
In addition to announcing the complete fight card and ticket on-sale information for the event, White revealed that Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva would coach the two teams featured in the first Brazilian version of The Ultimate Fighter. White confirmed that the show will premiere on March 25th with a season finale scheduled for June.
The event marks the first Rede Globo broadcast of an edition of The Ultimate Fighting Championship held in Brazil. “We are very happy with the success of the event in Brazil, and that is why we knew we wanted to go back to Rio de Janeiro as soon as possible”, he concluded.
Attending the press conference were White, Lorenzo Fertitta, CEO of the
UFC, featherweight champion Jose Aldo and contender Chad Mendes, as well
as middleweights Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson.
UFC RIO: Aldo vs. Mendes
Reigning UFC featherweight champion Aldo (20-1) is undefeated in the
UFC; in January, he will put his belt on the line against the undefeated
Mendes. ““It’s a great emotion to be able
to defend my belt in Brazil,” said Aldo. “It will be a tough fight, but
the important thing is to do my
job.”
Born and raised in Leblon, in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Belfort
(20-9) will finally fulfill his dream of fighting in his hometown. “I
have always believed in my sport, and it will be
an honor to fight in Rio de Janeiro with all my team,” said the former
UFC champion. “I really can’t
express my happiness.”
His opponent, Johnson (10-3), his known for his toughness. Coming off of
two resounding wins in the welterweight division, Johnson is now moving
up to fight middleweight to meet Belfort.
Brazilian fans will also be able to see nine more of their own in action
at UFC Rio: Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares (middleweight), Erick Silva
(welterweight) and Edson Barboza (lightweight), Thiago Tavares
(lightweight), Paulo Thiago (welterweight), Yuri “Marajó” Alcântara
(featherweight), Fabio Maldonado (light-heavyweight), Ednaldo “Lula”
Olivera (heavyweight) and Felipe “Sertanejo” Arantes (featherweight)
will all defend the Brazilian flag in the HSBC Arena.
Ticket information
UFC Rio: Aldo vs. Mendes tickets went on sale Wednesday, December 14 at 11:30 pm (local), exclusively through www.ingresso.com website.
Sections and prices are as follows: Single Bleacher Sector (R$ 275 / R$ 137,50 – half-price ticket). North and South Special Chairs (R$ 1.000 / R$ 500 – half-price ticket), East and West Premiere Chairs (R$ 1.600 / R$ 800 – half-price) and North and South Premiere Octagon (R$ 1.600 – R$ 800 – half-price). There will also be sectors for People With Special Needs (R$ 137,50) and Premiere People With Special Needs (R$ 800).
Scheduled for January 14th at HSBC Arena, UFC Rio also had an HSBC
customer ticket pre-sale, which sold out in under four hours.
Also at the press conference, the UFC announced a partnership with the Ministry of Health to support the national campaign for the fight against dengue.