The UFC announced a lightweight matchup this morning for their upcoming return to Brazil on January 14th, featuring Sam Stout vs. Thiago Tavares:

Good morning. Sam Stout VS Thiago Tavares at UFC 142 in Brazil? Okay!

Stout returns to the Octagon after quite an extended layoff, having dealt with the death of his longtime coach and brother-in-law, Shawn Tompkins. In his last outing, Stout finally proved his "Hands of Stone" nickname with a brutal KO win over Yves Edwards back in June. Tavares competed on the last Rio card, and followed a much more methodical game plan en-route to a TKO victory over Spencer Fisher, most likely because his willingness to stand and trade got him knocked out against Shane Roller. Tavares will likely be looking to again implement his strong takedowns and BJJ against Stout, although the Canadian has proven to be resilient against grapplers in the past.

Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout (17-6-1)
Win Yves Edwards (KO) - UFC UFC 131
Win Paul Taylor (split decision) - UFC 121
Loss Jeremy Stephens (split decision) - UFC 113

Thiago Tavares (16-4-1)
Win Spencer Fisher (TKO) - UFC 134
Loss Shane Roller (KO) - UFC on Versus 3
Win Pat Audinwood (submission) - UFC 119

UFC 142: Rio coverage