(Cain Velasquez: Just one of the many ferocious Latino UFC warriors who probably won’t be appearing on this card. / Illustration via Evan Shoman Art)
On Friday, the UFC casually tweeted out a semi-major announcement — the promotion will hold its first event in Mexico this November. Though a date and venue haven’t been revealed, the event will serve as the Finale for The Ultimate Fighter: Latinoamerica, which will begin filming this spring in Las Vegas, and will air on Fight Pass and the UFC Network.
Despite Mexico’s deep love of combatsports, the UFC has never held an event on Mexican soil — and it hasn’t been for lack of trying. As early as 2008, UFC president Dana White discussed the difficulty that the promotion had breaking into the market, “basically because five families control all of Mexico.” [Editor’s note: That statement has not been fact-checked.]
Things have been looking promising lately, though. The UFC was planning on holding an event down in Mexico as early as this April, but the date was scrapped because proposed headliner Cain Velasquez wasn’t healthy enough to make it. We’ll update you when we know more about the TUF: Latinoamerica Finale lineup, or who might coach the show. At this point, it looks like El Chapo won’t be available.
(Cain Velasquez: Just one of the many ferocious Latino UFC warriors who probably won’t be appearing on this card. / Illustration via Evan Shoman Art)
On Friday, the UFC casually tweeted out a semi-major announcement — the promotion will hold its first event in Mexico this November. Though a date and venue haven’t been revealed, the event will serve as the Finale for The Ultimate Fighter: Latinoamerica, which will begin filming this spring in Las Vegas, and will air on Fight Pass and the UFC Network.
Despite Mexico’s deep love of combatsports, the UFC has never held an event on Mexican soil — and it hasn’t been for lack of trying. As early as 2008, UFC president Dana White discussed the difficulty that the promotion had breaking into the market, “basically because five families control all of Mexico.” [Editor’s note: That statement has not been fact-checked.]
Things have been looking promising lately, though. The UFC was planning on holding an event down in Mexico as early as this April, but the date was scrapped because proposed headliner Cain Velasquez wasn’t healthy enough to make it. We’ll update you when we know more about the TUF: Latinoamerica Finale lineup, or who might coach the show. At this point, it looks like El Chapo won’t be available.
