UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil was hosted in São Paulo, Brazil, the city that staged the UFC’s first event in the country.
The event took place on October 16, 1998, at Ginásio da Portuguesa. It was also known as UFC Ultimate Brazil or UFC 17.5, reflecting its position between UFC 17 and UFC 18 in the numbered-event chronology. The show was the UFC’s first appearance in Brazil and its second event outside the United States.
São Paulo is sometimes mixed up with Rio de Janeiro because Rio was already strongly associated with Brazil’s vale-tudo and martial-arts culture. Brasília and Curitiba were not the host cities. The event was arranged through the efforts of Brazilian promoter Sérgio Batarelli, who helped bring the UFC to the country.
The card was historically significant beyond its location. It included the first UFC Lightweight Championship fight and a Middleweight Championship bout. Vitor Belfort also stopped Wanderlei Silva in 44 seconds, marking Silva’s first UFC appearance and Belfort’s first knockout victory over him.