Engenhão will host the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen

One of the UFC's longest soap operas has come to an end. During a press conference held in Canada this Wednesday, the organization's president Dana White announced that the UFC 147 will take place in Rio de Janeiro.

Although it is not yet an official announcement, Dana said that the event will take place in “a stadium for 80 thousand people in Rio de Janeiro”. With the closure of Maracanã, under construction for the 2014 World Cup, the only Rio stadium capable of receiving an audience close to that announced by Dana is the João Havelange Olympic Stadium, Engenhão.

The UFC's original intention was to take UFC 147 to São Paulo. The Pacaembu and Morumbi stadiums fought for the right to host the event, but the organization did not reach an agreement with either of them and the capital of São Paulo ended up losing the venue to Rio de Janeiro, which will host a UFC for the third time in less than one year.

With the rematches between Anderson Silva e Chael Sonnen e Vitor belfort e Wanderlei Silva scheduled for the event, in addition to the two TUF Brazil finals, UFC 147 could break the attendance record in UFC history. Currently the brand is UFC 129, held at the Rogers Center stadium in Toronto, Canada. On that occasion, 55.724 people were present to watch the event in April 2011.

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