(The UFC hosts four events on four continents in four weeks. MMAjunkie is in Stockholm, Rio de Janeiro, Auckland and Singapore from May 23 to June 18 for the 2017 MMA Road Show.)

LAS VEGAS – In the U.S., the UFC recently announced to minimal fanfare a new TV deal with FOX Networks Group Latin America. But it means the UFC is currently seeking to visit a South American nation other than Brazil for the first time.

UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content Joe Carr told MMAjunkie the promotion is currently targeting December for a new market in the company’s Latin American footprint.

“We definitely have the talent in place,” Carr told MMAjunkie. “Now we have the television distribution to kind of grow the fanbase and that demand, and now the next logical step is actually bringing a live event to market. And we have a date held in December, actually of this year, for Latin America.

“We’re figuring out where that’s going to be, whether it’s Santiago, Buenos Aires – you know, we’re not sure. We’ve announced Mexico for August, but we have another date in December. It’s going to be our first event in South America outside of Brazil, so we’re obviously still learning the market and getting our arms around it, but I’m pretty confident we’ll figure something out and get down there for December.”

The UFC previously tried to launch a subscription network in Latin America but struggled to gain real traction in the market. Earlier this month, UFC officials announced the new multi-year deal with FOX, via UFC.com, which put the UFC on air in 44 million households. It adds Mexico’s FOX homes to that total in January 2019. The first live events on the network kicked off with UFC 211, and Carr said the feedback was impressive.

“The reality is when you’re growing a sport from scratch and a brand from scratch, you need to be in front of people and eyeballs,” Carr said. “You can’t be behind a paywall, right? Especially in a market like Mexico, when you’re competing against an incumbent like boxing that has all that history, and they’re not charging – all those Canelo (Alvarez) fights are free on Azteca or wherever it is. For us to almost launch behind a paywall was probably a challenge, and it probably muted our growth to an extent the past few years.

“Where we are now is probably not representative of how much we’ve invested, to be honest. We should be much further ahead. … But the good news is that we’ve laid the foundation. We have the talent base, and now that we have the new FOX deal and are getting in front of 44 million homes, we’re already seeing it.”

So what does Latin American expansion mean for Brazil, where the UFC returns this Saturday for “UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway” at Rio de Janeiro’s Jeunesse Arena?

Carr said Brazil remains a key market for the promotion – in fact, the biggest market outside of the U.S. – and that a recent reduction of live events in the country is more a result of fan feedback than any hint of dwindling intentions.

“The reality is Brazil is a mature market with sophisticated fans,” Carr said. “They know the difference between quality and not quality. It’s not like going to a ‘Fight Night’ to one country for the first time and not going back in four years. We were going to Brazil for three events a year. So what happened is we started expanding to seven events, and now you’re doing shows in these smaller cities like Jaragua do Sul with 5,000 people, a smaller ‘Fight Night,’ and you start getting the feedback like ‘this really isn’t UFC brand’ or what we’re trying to accomplish.

“I’ve always been of the mentality that it’s quality over quantity. I’d rather do three big events a year that everyone feels good about. That’s great for the brand, the Brazilians feel great about it, and I think what you’ve seen is you’ve seen the success because of that. I think our last four events in Brazil have sold out. This Rio event is going to be a home run, but we’re as committed as ever to the market.”

The UFC is expected to host one more 2017 event in Brazil, and if past history is any indication, Sao Paulo will likely be the location. Carr said he envisions three events per year in Brazil, with one annual event in Rio de Janeiro, another in Sao Paulo and a rotating series of host cities for the third, leaving Brazil and Mexico as the anchor nations for live Latin American events.

“(Brazil) is one of those markets that’s not going anywhere,” Carr said. “It’s almost like U.S. 1A and 1B. But we are going to be more aggressive in the rest of South America now with the new FOX deal and the distribution.

“We’re definitely in brand-building mode, and Latin America is the most green field of any of our markets, in my opinion, so we just need to be out there. We’re going to continue to do that and continue to invest in talent.”

To learn more about the UFC’s current plan in different markets around the world, also check out:

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, including UFC 212, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.