UFC 147 To Be Held In A Stadium In Minas Gerais

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/4/27/2980991/report-ufc-147-to-be-held-in-a-stadium-in-minas-gerais
According to a report from respected Brazilian MMA news outlet Tatame, the UFC has found a home for UFC 147 on June 23: Estadio Jornalista Felippe Drummond in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The UFC had originally hoped to book the fight in a Sao Paulo stadium but ran afoul of noise restrictions. Then they planned on Rio de Janeiro but a UN conference that same week threatened to take up too many hotel rooms in the city.

The UFC has already moved the putative headliner between Middleweight champ Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen to UFC 148 in Las Vegas on July 7th. The card is now expected to feature Featherweight champ Jose Aldo defending his title against Erik Koch as the headliner.

Ultimate Fighter Brazil coaches Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort will face off in the co-main event. The card will also feature heavyweights Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Russow and the Ultimate Fighter Brazil finals in 2 divisions.

More details from Tatame about the size of the venue and the possible hitch that could eliminate the stadium from consideration after the jump...


From Tatame:

Quote :

"They were verifying the facilities and will need an engineer to see if the ceiling can handle a 20 tones structure", informed the assessors of the administration of the stadium.

The stadium full capacity depends on the event. On volleyball events, for instance, it supports 18 thousand people, like happened last year on concerts of Ozzy Osbourne and Roverto Carlos, which gathered 14 thousand people each.

And why exactly can't Silva vs. Sonnen II happen there ?

Ali wrote:

And why exactly can't Silva vs. Sonnen II happen there ?

Cause it's still not a done deal and that card is too huge to be on "iffy" status. Or that's my guess...

OU wrote:

Ali wrote:

And why exactly can't Silva vs. Sonnen II happen there ?

Cause it's still not a done deal and that card is too huge to be on "iffy" status. Or that's my guess...

Plus its not exactly an ideal place to showcase the biggest fight card of the year.

Farmer1906 wrote:

OU wrote:

Ali wrote:

And why exactly can't Silva vs. Sonnen II happen there ?

Cause it's still not a done deal and that card is too huge to be on "iffy" status. Or that's my guess...

Plus its not exactly an ideal place to showcase the biggest fight card of the year.

Card ? It's one fight.

Ali wrote:

Farmer1906 wrote:

OU wrote:

Ali wrote:

And why exactly can't Silva vs. Sonnen II happen there ?

Cause it's still not a done deal and that card is too huge to be on "iffy" status. Or that's my guess...

Plus its not exactly an ideal place to showcase the biggest fight card of the year.

Card ? It's one fight.

Well it makes the card. That's why we voted it #1 for buys in the other thread.

Doubt this will be in a stadium..they'll end up settling on a smaller venue i think

I wonder which one it is.



Doesn't look very impressive.

This fight was moved because the UFC was banking on the JDS vs Overeem/Mir vs Cain/HW super-card to be the blockbuster American card. With that fight in place, and the old venue in place, the Silva fight was better business as part of a Brazilian blockbuster card with a huge local profile and massive live gate.

But with Overeem pissing 146's chances at being a megacard away and the venue changing things up, this fight makes more sense now as part of a supercard in the states.

146 was gonna be the American megacard of the summer, but that has shifted to 148 now. Silva vs Sonnen would have always sold well and especially if parlayed off 146. However, for various reasons, fights always do better on US PPV is they're staged in the USA. The fight is most profitable for Zuffa in Vegas as part of a supercard.

Without a title I am wondering how big it will be in Brazil, but I know Vitor is a huge local star there, and there is the whole TUF angle. How are the ratings for TUF in Brazil?

Pulling in like 12-13 million an episode

That is pretty awesome. Is it all Vitor? Other than Andy/Aldo/Vitor, how big are other legendary Brazilian fighters there and the UFC in general in Brazil?

http://mmajunkie.com/news/28654/ufc-147-official-for-mineirinho-arena-in-belo-horizonte-with-belfort-vs-silva-ii.mma
As expected, next month's UFC 147 event will be a scaled-down version of the original plan.

While once expected to take place at an outdoor stadium and challenge the UFC's all-time attendance record – thanks to a since-rescheduled Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen title rematch – the June 23 event is officially headed indoors.

UFC executives today confirmed it'll take place at "Mineirinho" (Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond) in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The venue, which was secured this past week, can accommodate approximately 25,000 fans. It'll host the third UFC event in Brazil in the past year.

The event's main card remains a pay-per-view offering, and FX and Facebook are expected to carry the prelims.

"The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" coaches Wanderlei Silva (34-11-1 MMA, 4-6 UFC) and Vitor Belfort (21-9 MMA, 10-5 UFC) meet in the middleweight headliner. Fabricio Werdum (15-5-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) meets heavyweight Mike Russow (15-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the co-headliner, and the event also features the "TUF: Brazil" tournament finales.

"It is great for our fans and for the UFC to be able to stage events in new parts of Brazil," UFC Managing Director of International Development Marshall Zelaznik stated. "The UFC is exploding everywhere in the country, and Minas Gerais, being the third biggest state in the country, seemed like the perfect place for this. Not only has Mineirinho received some major acts through the years, but it is also located in a central and touristic area of the city. It will certainly be a fantastic experience for the fans."

The latest UFC 147 card includes:

Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva
Mike Russow vs. Fabricio Werdum
"TUF: Brazil" featherweight finals
"TUF: Brazil" middleweight finals
Felipe Arantes vs. Milton Vieira
Yuri Alcantara vs. Hacran Dias*

I'll be surprised if that card sells well.

Is Minas Gerais in Middle Earth?

Ali wrote:

I'll be surprised if that card sells well.

I bet it does good #s in Brazil.

Farmer1906 wrote:

Ali wrote:

I'll be surprised if that card sells well.

I bet it does good #s in Brazil.

I am talking about your native Mountain Dew land