(“Can you believe I used to wear boxers this big?”)

It looks like the UFC’s return to Brazil in August was a fruitful one for Zuffa as Tatame is reporting that reps from the Las Vegas-based promotion are in the South American country working on a deal that could see a season of The Ultimate Fighter filmed in Sao Paulo  as well as up to five events in the region in 2012. The group met with the mayor of the city, Gilberto Kassab, yesterday afternoon and today are meeting with the governor Geraldo Alckmin.

UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told the Brazilian combat sport magazine earlier this summer while in Rio for UFC 134 that he was pleasantly surprised with the amount of support they got in the birthplace of the sport and that they were looking at bringing the Octagon back as many as five times next year.

“We underestimated how popular it was here. If we could do it again, we would do it in a big soccer stadium, you know? But when we put the tickets on sale, we really didn’t know. But it’s been amazing the amount of support, it’s unbelievable,” he explained. “We’re working on [bringing TUF here]; we’re really close to get something done. We think it’s gonna be very successful – a Brazilian Ultimate Fighter, all Brazilian fighters. One thing that is great about this country is that you have so many great fighters, finding talents is easy. There are some many good kids”.

Props to MMA Mania for giving us the heads-up about Carol Dias, a Brazilian MMA ring girl who is currently campaigning to be a part of the UFC Rio show in August. According to this interview with Terra Magazine, Dias is a 24-year-old model and journalism student, and wants to hold round-cards for the UFC when they visit her home country so that she can meet her favorite fighters, including Anderson Silva, Mauricio Rua, and (of course) Georges St. Pierre. On the topic of beauty’s advantages in the corporate world, Dias says: “A beleza ajuda sim. Mas com certeza o que faz você crescer é aquilo que você pode oferecer intelectualmente. Afinal a beleza acaba, não? O que você aprende, você não esquece. Beleza ajuda mas não é o mais importante como muitas pessoas acreditam.”

How true. Check out more lovely pics of Carol after the jump, and follow her life on Twitter.

("I also want a twenty percent senior’s discount on all UFC merchandise and a scooter to get me to the Octagon.")

When the UFC announced it would be holding a press conference in Brazil to announce that the promotion would be returning to the South American birthplace of modern MMA to hold its first event since Ultimate Brazil on October 16, 1998, many were surprised to see UFC 1, 2 and 4 tournament champ Royce Gracie included in the festivities.

The fact that Royce was prominently positioned on the dais between fellow Brazilian MMA luminaries Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort and Jose Aldo didn’t rais any eyebrows,  considering Gracie’s UFC Hall of membership and his family’s history with the promotion. It was the fact that the 44-year-old, who hasn’t competed since testing positive for steroids after his K-1 Dynamite!! USA bout with Kazushi Sakuraba in June 2007 revealed that he was interested in competing on the "UFC Rio" card.

In an interview he did with Sherdog yesterday, Gracie said that he is negotiating with the UFC to be included on the card, which will likely be at least half filled with Brazilian fighters.

According to Fighters Only who spoke to a source close to the situation, "it’s unlikely" that Gracie will be included on the card, but "anything is possible possible."

(Shogun Rua comes face-to-face with his future. Props: reddit)

Notable quote from yesterday’s UFC Rio press conference:

"I’m still thinking (on fighting in Rio). But I’m always training. This return of UFC to Brazil touched me, made me feel the wish of coming back to the Octagon. Everything has being negotiated with Dana White. Let’s wait and see." — UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie

Not to say that the UFC’s first superstar shouldn’t have some sort of ceremonial role at the UFC’s return to Brazil next August…but fighting? Let’s nip that shit in the bud, pronto. The last time Royce set foot in the Octagon, he was smashed by Matt Hughes in a brutal passing of the torch back at UFC 60. His next (and still most recent) performance was a June 2007 revenge match against Kazushi Sakuraba, which ended in a decision win and a one-year steroid suspension. 

Although calling the announcement  "a monumental one" may have been a bit of an overstatement, the UFC announced today at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro today that it would be returning to Brazil for the first time since Zuffa bought the organization in 2000 and only the second time ever August 27, 2011.

UFC president Dana White made the announcement of the yet-to-be named event in Rio city hall alongside Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta,  mayor Eduardo Paes and Brazilian UFC luminaries Royce Gracie, Anderson Silva, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Vitor Belfort and Jose Aldo.

Although he would not commit to naming names of Brazilian fighters who will likely appear on the card because the event is more than eight months away and injuries may change the planned card several times between now and then, White intimated that all of the currently contracted fighters at the presser and guys like Demian Maia, Junior Dos Santos and Wanderlei Silva are all being considered for the card.

(Nipmoua’s old poster design has become eerily prescient. Except for the ’200′ thing, obviously. I mean, do the math bro.)

In what’s expected to be an official announcement of the UFC’s return to Brazil in 2011, UFC president Dana White and Chairman/CEO Lorenzo Fertitta will be making a special announcement at Rio De Janeiro’s City Hall today at 11 a.m. ET, 2 p.m. local time. White and Fertitta will be joined by UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie, middleweight champion Anderson Silva, light-heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, featherweight champion Jose Aldo, #1 middleweight contender Vitor Belfort, and Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio. You can watch the announcement live in the video player after the jump. 

(Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil. Jesus, they’ve been talking about "the old Vitor" since 1998??)

According to a new report, the UFC will make a long-overdue return to Brazil in November 2011. GracieMag.com sources claim that the event will be held at the HSBC Arena in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, a 15,000-seat venue that will host the basketball and gymnastics events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The rumored event would mark the first time the UFC has held a card in Brazil since "Ultimate Brazil" in October 1998, which featured Frank Shamrock defending his middleweight belt against John Lober, Pat Miletich becoming the UFC’s first welterweight champion after outpointing Mikey Burnett, Pedro Rizzo’s UFC debut against Tank Abbott, and Vitor Belfort‘s legendary knockout of Wanderlei Silva. With a renewed rivalry brewing between Belfort and Silva, we can’t think of a better occasion for a rematch.

Semi-related: Speaking of Pedro Rizzo…the three-time UFC heavyweight title challenger is currently preparing for a fight against former champ Tim Sylvia, which will take place in the War on the Mainland promotion sometime early next year. According to Rizzo, "Dana White mentioned that the winner should get another chance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship." Both fighters are currently riding three-fight win streaks.