- Friday 10.16.1998
- U.S. Broadcast: Pay Per View
- Promotion: Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Ownership: Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG)
- Venue: Ginasio da Portugesa
- Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Enclosure: Octagon
- TV Announcers: Mike Goldberg, Jeff Blatnick, Bas Rutten
- Ring Announcer: Bruce Buffer
- Post-Fight Interviews: Jeff Blatnick
- MMA Bouts: 8
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Promotion Links:
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Event Links:
Fight Card
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UFC Middleweight Championship
Submission, Punches
7:40 Round 1 of 18Main Event
199
21 min one round | Pro -
UFC Middleweight Championship
KO/TKO, Punches
0:44 Round 1 of 17Main Card
199
15 min one round | Pro -
UFC Lightweight Championship
Decision, Split
1 Round, 21:00 Total5Main Card
170
21 min one round | Pro
Cancelled & Fizzled Bouts
Referees
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John McCarthy
Shamrock vs. Lober (8), Belfort vs. Silva I (7), Rizzo vs. Abbott (6), Miletich vs. Burnett (5), Kosaka vs. Williams (4), Fontes Braga vs. Horn (3) -
Fernando Yamasaki
Palhares vs. Santos (2), Marscucci vs. Santos (1)
Wiki
UFC 17.5 Wiki
UFC 17.5 marked the promotion's first appearance in Brazil, a market that had already been exposed to MMA competition in the form of Vale Tudo fights for years prior to the UFC's arrival. In addition to featuring title defenses by Pat Miletich and Frank Shamrock, UFC 17.5 marked the promotional debuts of Wanderlei Silva and Pedro Rizzo, both of whom would go on to have long and successful careers. The event was one of the only early UFC events not to feature the tournament format, which would return briefly at UFC 23 before being extinguished from the promotion entirely. The promotional poster for UFC 17.5 caused some controversy, as the Brazilian flag was improperly presented, missing the lone star above the white band, which represents the city of Brasilia.
Vitor Belfort was originally set to fight Jerry Bohlander but the latter pulled out due to injury. This led to Wanderlei Silva filling in on short notice snd there being the classic short fight that is known today.