| Sign Up | Google+

UFC Tonight: UFC Returning To Atlanta, Dan Henderson Turns Down Fight

Stay connected for news and updates

Atlanta will get their first taste of UFC action in over three years with April's UFC 146. (Photo: ESPN.com)

The UFC will return to Atlanta, Georgia, for the first time in over three years with UFC 146 on Saturday, April 21. MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani broke the news on Fuel's "UFC Tonight" and via Twitter Tuesday night.

The last time the UFC ran a show in the city was UFC 88 on September 6, 2008, headlined by Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans. Evans won the fight via second round KO, earning Knockout Of The Night and a shot at then-Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin.

14,736 filled the Philips Arena that night for a live gate of $2.6 million -- the only time Atlanta has hosted a UFC event. While no fights were announced, expect Georgia's most notable Zuffa fighter -- former WEC Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles -- to compete on the show, keeping with the UFC trend.

****

Also on "UFC Tonight" and Twitter, Helwani gave some interesting insight into how Tuesday's main event announcement of Alexander Gustafsson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira came together. According to Helwani, Dana White originally offered Nogueira to Dan Henderson but Hendo turned the fight down. The plan was that if Rashad Evans defeated Phil Davis at UFC On Fox 2, he would get the next shot at current champion Jon Jones with the Hendo/Nogueira winner being next in line for a title shot. Helwani said Henderson's next fight is in limbo as a result.

In a clip that didn't air on last week's show, White talked about international expansion including Sweden, Paris and putting Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II in an outdoor venue in Brazil. See the two minute clip after the jump.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Recent Posts

Stay connected for news and updates

The Next Read

There are 117 Comments. Load Now. Loading

Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.

C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read

R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next

Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read

Comment Settings

Live comment alert: Hide it!

Comments for this post are closed.

tracking_pixel_5349_tracker tracking_pixel_5351_tracker