UFC
"UFC 147: Belfort vs. Silva" official for "Mineirinho" arena in Belo Horizonte
May 11, 2012 - 4:45:49 PM "UFC 147: Belfort vs. Silva" official for "Mineirinho" arena in Belo Horizonte

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Though it was reported earlier this month that the UFC would be moving the UFC 147 card from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, there were some potential concerns with the infrastructure of the "Mineirinho” indoor arena, and whether it could hold the equipment the UFC would need to bring for the event.

Those concerns have been eased, and the June 23 event is now official for the venue and city. The card will be headlined by the middleweight bout between Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, a rematch of their 1998 bout at the UFC's first ever event in Brazil. This card will be the third event in the country in a 10 month span.

"It is great for our fans and for the UFC to be able to stage events in new parts of Brazil," said Marshall Zelaznik, UFC's Managing Director of International Development in a press release. "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."

Penick's Analysis: This pay-per-view event is significantly less interesting without its original main event between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, but the move out of Rio gives them a significantly better chance at moving tickets than they had in Rio without that fight. This has several good fights, and the finals of TUF Brazil will be interesting to see, but as a pay-per-view event it will probably be the lowest selling of the year for the UFC.