The Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced the promotions next trip to Brazil with UFC 147, which will take place on June 23, 2012 at the Joao Havelange Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The stadium, which is home to the Boafogo soccer club and is set to host events for the 2016 Olympics, will hold the UFC’s biggest event ever. Headlining the show will be a middleweight title rematch between UFC champion Anderson Silva (29-4) and challenger Chael Sonnen (28-11-1). Also slated for the evenings activities will be the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter Brasil, as well as the showdown between coaches Vitor Belfort (21-9) and Wanderlei Silva (34-11-1).
“This will be the biggest sporting event of the year” said UFC President Dana White. “Bigger than the NFL, the NBA, you name it – UFC 147 will be the biggest. The whole world wants to see this fight between Silva and Sonnen. We are broadcast in over 150 countries in 22 languages in half a billion homes. Wherever those fans are, they are going to be watching this fight.”
Tickets for the promotions second stadium event will become available this May.
The Joao Havelange Stadium has seen renovations in anticipation of the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympic games which has boosted the seating from 47,000 to approx. 60,000. For this UFC event, a lot more seating will be available on the floor of the stadium which could push seating up to 80,000 for the live show.