The Weekly Wrap: Dec. 11 - Dec. 17

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UFC Back to Brazil

The UFC held a press conference in Rio de Janiero to announce it would return to Brazil for the first time since 1998. UFC “Rio” on Aug. 27 will take place at the HSBC Arena, which has an 18,000-seat capacity but will reportedly be configured for 13,000 seats.

The promotion brought a compliment of top Brazilian fighters to the mid-week press conference helmed by Rio’s mayor, including belt-wielding champions Anderson Silva, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Jose Aldo. Hall of famer Royce Gracie also attended and hinted he is negotiating with the UFC to fight on the show.

Several media members at the high-energy press conference asked the fighters questions about the nature of the sport and its roots in anything-goes, hyper-violent Vale Tudo. Fighters and Mayor Eduardo Paes stressed the game has evolved into a professional sport. Thirteen months before the UFC’s 1998 event in Sao Paulo, a riot broke out in Rio, sparked by a Renzo Gracie fight.

The UFC also made noise in Australia, holding a press conference to hype its sophomore effort in the country -- UFC 127 on Feb. 26 in Sydney. The event looks to be another major success, as 18,000 tickets were sold in two hours when they were put on sale. The event is headlined by B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch and Aussie George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver. UFC 110 put 17,431 fans into Sydney’s Acer Arena, the same venue that will host UFC 127.