Riding the wave of success from Pride Fighting Championships, which was famous for its extravagant production values, four Brazilian businessmen decided to join forces on a mixed martial arts project of their own. Heat Fighting Championship was born on July 31, 2003 at Machadinho Gymnasium in Natal, Brazil, and featured Carlos Barreto, Renato Sobral and perhaps most notably an American prospect who would go on to strike gold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship years later.
Owing largely to Patricio Freire and Patricky Freire, former Bellator MMA champions and leaders of the Pitbull Brothers team in Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte has become known as one of the mixed martial arts meccas in Brazil.