Tickets for UFC 198 event at a 45,000 seater stadium in Curitiba, Brazil went on sale yesterday, and demand from the public has been everything the promotion could have hoped for.
According to UFC Brazil exec Giovanni Decker, no less than 32,000 tickets were sold in the first 90 minutes for the May 14th event which will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic.
That already means it’s set to be the third biggest show in the history of the UFC, outselling UFC On FOX 14: Gustafsson Vs Johnson which drew 30,000 fans.
Even if UFC 198 fills out it’s entire 45,000 capacity, it’s still fall behind UFC 193: Rousey Vs Holm which pulled in 56,214 fans, and UFC 129: GSP Vs Shields which drew 55,724, but whatever happens it’s already a cause for celebration for the company.
“It was a dream come true having an event in this stadium and it’s going to be a big success,” Decker said at a UFC 198 press conference in Brazil yesterday. “Today was the first day of sales and in an hour and a half we’ve had approximately 32,000 ticket sales, so May 14th will be a legendary card, a legendary event that I’m sure will be for many years in everyone’s memory.”
It’s easy to see why UFC 198 is currently the hottest ticket in town, with Werdum Vs Miocic being backed up by a truly stacked card that also features the likes of Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza Vs Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva Vs Uriah Hall, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua Vs Corey Anderson and Damien Maia Vs Matt Brown.
That’s not all though, as the event will also feature the long-awaited UFC debut of Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino Vs Leslie Smith, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Vs Pat Cummins and Nate Marquardt Vs Thiago santos on the undercard, amongst others on the 13 fight line-up.
That’s a hugely impressive list of fights, particularly coming so close to UFC 200 which is also set to feature a star-studded card from top to bottom.
