Jones may battle in Calgary in wake of Brazil peace talks
UN conference in July impacts three UFC cards
AUnited Nations peace conference has had a direct impact on three Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views, including the company’s debut in Calgary this summer.
UFC president Dana White confirmed Tuesday the highly-anticipated rematch between middle weight champion Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, long planned for UFC 147 on June 23 in Brazil, has officially been moved to UFC 148 on July 7 in Las Vegas.
The change to the Brazil card is causing a ripple effect for UFC 148 and also UFC 149, the July 21 event at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
Featherweight champion Jose Aldo is likely to be shifted from his main event in Calgary to UFC 147, replacing fellow Brazilian Silva on that card. As a result, the company is going forward with tentative plans for a light heavyweight title match in Calgary between champion Jon Jones and No. 1 contender Dan Henderson.
On Saturday night at UFC 145 in Atlanta, Jones defended his belt for the fourth time, beating Rashad Evans.
“We talked about moving Jose down to this card here. It’s probably going to happen. We’re working on it with his camp right now. Dan Henderson and Jones could be a possibility (for Calgary),” said UFC president Dana White on Tuesday at a media conference in Brazil.
“Obviously, Jones just fought his
Dan Henderson and Jones could be a possibility (for Calgary)
DANA WHITE
first five-round fight. His hands are sore, all the things that go along with coming out of a fight like that. We’ve got to give him a few weeks and see how he feels and then we’ll figure out what the main event is going to be in Calgary.
“But that would be awesome. If we could make that fight, that would be great.”
UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright, in an interview on Tuesday, said the company puts a big focus on bringing big cards to Canada.
Nothing is official until White says so, he noted, “but it looks like the 21st of July in Calgary could be featuring Jon Jones defending his light heavyweight championship against Dan Henderson . . . That’s pretty exciting.”
Wright was in Calgary on Tuesday and today for meetings before heading to Regina to talk about some promotions with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Among Wright’s dealings in Calgary include a luncheon today with the Chamber of Commerce.
“I think it’s important to reach out, not just to the fans, but to the business community,” said Wright.
UFC 147 is still taking place on June 23 in Brazil, said White, but an arena is yet to be reserved. That card will include a bout between local icons Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, a likely Aldo title defence, a heavyweight bout between Fabricio Werdum and Mike Russow, plus the middleweight and featherweight finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
White, Silva and Sonnen were particularly disappointed about the Silva-sonnen rematch being moved out of Brazil. A UN peace conference scheduled for June 20-22 in Rio was the main issue, as it became difficult logistically to ensure things like security and the number of hotel rooms necessary. In addition, White said previously, the UN had been pressuring local officials to not host a high-profile fight card at the same time as a peace conference. The idea of hosting the event at a stadium in Sao Paulo was also ruled out, due to sound ordinates in the city.
“It took a lot of talking,” said White. “I finally convinced Anderson to take this fight in Las Vegas.”
Sonnen was excited about the prospect of potentially breaking the company attendance record of 55,724 set in Toronto at UFC 129 last April. Silva said he was naturally looking forward to such a huge match in his home country, but he insists he’ll take care of business no matter the location.
“I don’t have fans only in Brazil, but worldwide,” he said. “I will do my job as always and try to retain my invincibility.”
Sonnen, who in his first meeting with Silva in August 2010 beat him up for four rounds before being submitted in the closing moments of the fifth round, was at his trash-talking best Tuesday, doing all he could to poke and prod Silva.
He again proclaimed himself the true champion, saying Silva’s belt was a fake. He talked about growing up in the United States with its modern technology and medicine, and then contrasted it to Silva and his friends playing outside in the mud in Brazil. He snored into the microphone, pretending to be asleep during one of Silva’s answers. He put on fake glasses, a big nose and moustache, saying he did it to sneak into the country unnoticed, but it backfired because fans thought he was Silva’s mentor Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
“My plan was to come here, take your money, my new belt and go back to America,” said Sonnen.
“Instead, I’m going to have to wait, I’m going to have to stomp him on July 7 and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
While Silva was visibly annoyed with Sonnen’s antics, White couldn’t help but laugh.
“Say what you want about Chael, I know he says some crazy (expletive), but he’s the only guy to ever challenge Anderson Silva since he’s been in the UFC and since 2004,” said White.
“He’s the only guy who’s even come close. All the stuff that comes out of his mouth is nutty as hell, but he backs it up.”