UFC 112 set for Abu Dhabi; Silva vs. Belort, Penn vs. Edgar confirmed for outdoor show
Despite some concerns about the Ultimate Fighting Championship's ability to find a suitable venue, the fight promotion has secured an outdoor arena and hosts UFC 112 on April 10 in the United Arab Emirates.
The event takes place in Abu Dhabi at Concert Arena at the Ferrari World theme park on Yas Island.
Confirmed championship co-headliners previously reported for the long-rumored event include UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva (25-4, 10-0 UFC) vs. Vitor Belfort (19-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and lightweight champ B.J. Penn (15-5-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) vs. Frankie Edgar (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC).
The UFC also confirmed a previously reported welterweight bout of former champ Matt Hughes (43-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) vs. Renzo Gracie (13-6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
UFC officials did not announce ticket or broadcast information for the event.
The UFC opted for a show in Abu Dhabi following the 10 percent sale of Zuffa LLC (the UFC's parent company) to Flash Entertainment, which has been behind some of Abu Dhabi's biggest concerts and entertainment projects, in recent months.
"This is one of the biggest and most significant nights in the history of the UFC," UFC president Dana White stated. "UFC 112 is our first-ever outdoor event, and it is taking place in the hometown of our brand new partners, Flash Entertainment. We are very happy we could deliver what fans around the world will recognize as a stacked card featuring the sport’s biggest stars."
Silva vs. Belfort initially was expected to take place at UFC 108 earlier this month, but Silva, who underwent elbow surgery to remove bone chips in October, had a slow recovery and needed some additional time to recover. Silva enters the fight with an 11-bout win streak, which includes 10 straight wins in the UFC. After taking the belt from Rich Franklin in October 2006, he now looks for his sixth consecutive title defense.
Belfort, a former UFC 205-pound champ who returned to the UFC in September 2009 after a nearly five-year break from the organization, is riding a five-fight win streak. In his octagon return, he scored a first-round TKO over Franklin. Despite the one win (and his struggle to make weight for the 195-pound catch-weight contest), Belfort was awarded the title shot.
In the co-headliner, Penn puts his lightweight belt up for grabs. The UFC legend has torn through the 155-pound division since defeating Joe Stevenson for the lightweight belt at UFC 80 in January 2008 with successful title defenses over Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian, and most recently, Diego Sanchez.
Edgar, meanwhile, is on a three-fight win streak and most recently put his contendership on the line when he faced Matt Veach at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in December. In a "Fight of the Night" performance, he submitted Veach in the second round. With Gray Maynard's lackluster win over Nate Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20 earlier this month, Edgar received the title shot instead.
Hughes, who had two memorable title runs at welterweight, hasn't fought since his decision victory over Matt Serra at UFC 98 in July. He rebounded from back-to-back losses to Georges St-Pierre and Thiago Alves with the win. He is just 2-3 over the past three years with victories over non-contenders Chris Lytle and Serra. In 2006 he defeated Royce Gracie, Renzo's first cousin, at UFC 60.
Gracie, a former PRIDE and IFL fighter, enters the UFC with a three-fight win streak, though he hasn't fought since his February 2007 disqualification win over Frank Shamrock at "EliteXC: Destiny." The veteran had lost six of seven fights before the recent win streak, which also included wins over Pat Miletich and Carlos Newton.
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/17698/ufc-112 ... r-show.mma