UFC 147 keeps Belfort vs. Silva 2, expected to get champ Aldo at venue TBA
Although the event has lost its headliner, UFC 147 will soldier on.
At a press conference today in Rio de Janeiro, UFC president Dana White today announced UFC 147 will take place at a date to be determined with a Wanderlei Silva (34-11-1 MMA, 4-6 UFC) vs. Vitor Belfort (21-9 MMA, 10-5 UFC) bout. Additionally featherweight champion Jose Aldo also (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is expected to fight at the event.
A previously announced headliner and rematch between middleweight champion Anderson Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) and challenger Chael Sonnen (27-11-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has been moved to July's UFC 148 event, as MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) reported earlier today.
Currently, White said, the event still will take place June 23, though a venue hasn't been determined.
UFC officials initially announced UFC 147 at Joao Havelange Stadium (also known as Engenhao Stadium) in Rio. However, White recently said conflicts with the United Nations' "Rio +20" meeting, which is scheduled for June 20-22 in Rio, could prompt some changes. Instead of the stadium, which could have broken the UFC's all-time attendance record (55,724 attendees at UFC 129), UFC 147 now is searching for a new venue.
Admittedly, Silva was disappointed he couldn't fight in Brazil.
"He was very upset about not fighting in Brazil," White said. "He wanted to fight Chael Sonnen here. ... I finally convinced him to take the fight in Las Vegas."
Aldo initially was announced for a headlining spot at UFC 149 in Calgary on July 21, but instead, White said he expects the Brazilian to fight at UFC 147 in his home country.
Additionally, White confirmed UFC 147 still will feature both tournament finales from "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil," which is currently at the midseason point, as well as Brazilian heavyweight Fabricio Werdum (15-5-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) vs. Mike Russow (15-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC).
