UFC plans October event in Rio de Janeiro

The UFC could be back in Brazil soon.

MMA Fighting has learned the UFC is currently working on a return to Brazil for a Fight Night event in October. The targeted date is Oct. 11 at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, but the deal is yet to be finalized.

The UFC hasn’t visited the country since May 2024, when Alexandre Pantoja successfully defended the flyweight title against Steve Erceg in the main event of UFC 301. The card drew 14,514 fans to the same venue in Rio de Janeiro. Jose Aldo co-headlined the event in his return from retirement versus Jonathan Martinez.

UFC doesn’t have a broadcast partner in Brazil since dropping the deal with Band TV in the beginning of 2025, instead airing all events on its own streaming platform UFC Fight Pass.

UFC CEO Dana White said in September 2024 the company was “working on a big deal right now down in Brazil that hopefully we’ll announce here pretty soon”, but nothing has been announced regarding TV deals or events since.