TUF: Brazil a ‘done deal’
“It’s a huge market for us,” White said of Brazil. “It’s incredible down there. We’re going to do as many…
“It’s a huge market for us,” White said of Brazil. “It’s incredible down there. We’re going to do as many as we possibly can.”
White, who revealed the plans following Thursday’s pre-UFC 137 presser in Las Vegas, said multiple recent reports tying the promotion to an early 2012 event in Brazilian cities Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia were premature and that while UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta recently traveled the country in search of potential hosts, contracts are still in the works.
“Still working on it,” White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “There’s just so much. You guys know from being around the sport so long how crazy this thing is and how crazy we’ve been. This time period right now from like two months ago to the end of this year is insane.
“There’s just so many things to do and so much juggling and so much work that needs to be done. It’s been crazy. We’re working on it right now.”
So while the details of the UFC’s return to Brazil following a highly successful UFC 134 event this past August remain unclear, White said the South American nation does hold claim to at least one bragging right: The country will soon host the first-ever international version of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
“The first international ‘TUF’ will be in Brazil,” White said.