Arena da Baixada during the 2014 World Cup game. Photo: Reproduction/CAP-SA
A major turnaround could significantly transform the Ultimate's calendar in Brazil in 2014. Headquarters of at least one annual edition of the biggest MMA event on the planet in pay-per-view, the so-called “numbered cards”, Rio de Janeiro (RJ) could lose the position of base city for UFC 179, which takes place in October, to Curitiba (PR). The person providing the information is Mário Celso Petraglia, president of Atlético-PR, owner of Arena da Baixada – the stadium used in the 2014 World Cup and which would be chosen to host the fight night.
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The revelation was reportedly made by Petraglia to Furacão's advisors during a meeting held this Monday (20), as reported by the radio “98FM” and the newspaper “Tribuna”. The information released shows that the director stated that the Arena will receive a retractable roof until the date of the event and that the agreement should be announced by the UFC itself in the coming days. Furthermore, in his speech, the president would have explicitly mentioned the date of October 25th, the same date for which UFC 179 is scheduled for the Maracanãzinho Gymnasium.
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During the World Cup, the Arena da Baixada hosted four games in the first phase of the competition, with a total capacity of approximately 41 thousand fans. After the end of its assignment to FIFA, the stadium had its maximum capacity increased to around 43 thousand attendees. For the UFC to be held, with chairs and seats set up on the lawn, the expectation is that the number of spectators could exceed 50 – which entitles the edition to compete for the position of having the largest audience in the history of Ultimate with UFC 129, in 2011, with 55,7 thousand.
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