UFC
Jose Aldo now likely to headline UFC 147 in Brazil, venue not yet secured
Apr 24, 2012 - 2:10:02 PM Jose Aldo now likely to headline UFC 147 in Brazil, venue not yet secured

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC officially announced on Tuesday morning that the Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen rematch will move from Brazil to Las Vegas, now headlining the UFC 148 card on July 7 in Las Vegas. That announcement leaves the UFC 147 event in Brazil without its big headlining fight, and UFC President Dana White also announced that they haven't yet secured a venue for that event.

With it moving from a soccer stadium, they're attempting to lock down a new location and building for the event, but White said it's something they haven't been able to finalize just yet. He did, however, reveal that the card may have a new headliner in Brazil, reiterating comments he made in a fan chat on Friday that Jose Aldo may be moved to this card.

The card will still take place on June 23, and will feature the "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" coaches fight in Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, as well as the featherweight and middleweight finals for "TUF: Brazil." Additionally, a heavyweight bout between Fabricio Werdum and Mike Russow will remain on the card.

Penick's Analysis: It's certainly a disappointment for the UFC and for Anderson Silva especially that they're not able to pull this off down in Brazil as planned, but as White said today, everything that could go wrong did go wrong in trying to get it set up. They'll find a venue for this card, and Jose Aldo will make for a solid headliner. I'm not sure who his challenger would be, but there are a couple of possibilities. The first that pops into mind is Erik Koch, who is returning from injury, but all of that is still yet to be figured out.