UFC Brazil Event in September Facing Issues in Porto Alegre, Could Return to Belo Horizonte
The UFC has been targeting a return date to Brazil on Sept. 4 as part of its early efforts on the new U.S. national sports network, Fox Sports 1.
Their initial plans for UFC on FS1 3 to land in Porto Alegre, however, are facing an uphill battle. The event may instead see the promotion circle back to Belo Horizonte instead.
It’s unclear what the issue is with Porto Alegre, but UFC executive Marshall Zelaznik, following Saturday night’s UFC on Fuel TV 10 in Fortaleza, confirmed that there is an issue and that the promotion has begun formulating a back-up plan.
“Belo Horizonte is one of the cities we're looking at right now (for September),” he admitted. “There are some issues with Porto Alegre. We're hoping that gets resolved soon.”
There are apparently other possibilities aside from a return to Belo Horizonte, but Zelaznik indicated that the promotion was satisfied with its first event in the city and wouldn’t mind going back.
“We do have other options, but we had a great event the last time we were in Belo Horizonte. It is in our future. It's something we're looking to do.”
The promotion’s first trek to Belo Horizonte was UFC 147, which featured Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin in the headliner. The event drew a reported 16,643 fans to Mineirinho Arena.
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