Dana White: Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen II coming to 80,000-seat stadium in Rio de Janeiro

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC was planning on bringing the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen rematch to Sao Paulo, Brazil, this June, but hiccups with local ordinances have kept them from being able to bring an event to a soccer stadium there.

However, the fight will be coming to a big soccer stadium in Brazil, it will simply be shifted to Rio de Janeiro.

UFC President Dana White revealed the shift during Wednesday's press conference in Calgary, and said the event will be open to 80,000 fans.

Should the card sell out, it will bring the largest gate in UFC history and blow away the North American attendance record as well, both of which were set last April at UFC 129 in Toronto. This rematch between Silva and Sonnen will bring out a big crowd, for sure, but can the UFC get 80,000 fans for one event? They're going to find out in June.

Penick's Analysis: The shift to Rio has been talked about, as noise ordinances in Sao Paulo wouldn't have allowed for a stadium show at the time they would need to run. Rio has been good for them twice already, and having the Silva-Sonnen rematch live from an outdoor stadium with 80,000 fans would be one insane spectacle. This is a huge, huge fight, and the UFC is certainly trying to pull out everything they can to make it a massive event. We'll see if they can pull it off, but this is certainly the type of fight that just may manage it.

[Chael Sonnen art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_12838.shtml

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