Author: Matt Erickson [matt-erickson]

Reports of new bouts for the UFC’s return to Brazil in January had been trickling in with regularity earlier this week. Now they’re official.

The UFC today announced a 12-fight card in Brazil for Jan. 19, though the host city is still to be determined and, the UFC said, will be announced soon. The four-fight main card is likely to air on either FX or FUEL TV.

Recent light heavyweight title challenger Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping headlines.

Travis Bartlett is having fun with his perceived role on Saturday at the World Series of Fighting 1.

Bartlett welcomes Tyrone Spong into the world of MMA, and from the impression he’s gotten from others, he’s a warm body for the renowned kickboxer.

“I’ve got zero focus, they’re bringing me in as an opponent, and I love it,” Bartlett on Thursday told MMAjunkie.com Radio.

As a reminder, submissions for the upcoming edition of “The Sunday Junkie” are due by Sunday at 10 a.m. ET.

All topics – including this weekend’s Bellator 79, RFA 4 and WSOF 1 events – are open for discussion. The person who sends in the submission we deem the best (based on timeliness of subject, clarity and overall persuasiveness) is the winner.

This week only, our winner receives a “Best of UFC” prize pack from Anchor Bay Entertainment, which includes the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 versions of the “Best of” DVDs.

Episode No. 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter 16” airs tonight on FX at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

This serves as the discussion thread for the debut of tonight’s eighth episode, which sees the 16 cast members continue their quest to become “the next Ultimate Fighter” under the watch of coaches Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson.

Follow along with tonight’s episode on FX, and discuss it in the comments section of this thread. We’ll then have an episode recap posted following the show’s conclusion. (Note: Comments will include spoilers.)

Richard Hale can take a heavyweight punch, but is better at giving them.

The former light heavyweight nearly was stopped by the punches of Thiago Santos before recovering to pound the Brazilian out and advance to the finals of the Season 7 heavyweight tournament.

The bout headlined Bellator 79, which took place at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada, following a featherweight semifinal fight that saw Shahbulat Shamhalaev advance to the finals.

The weigh-ins for the first World Series of Fighting event are in the books.

Friday’s official weigh-ins took place at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, site of Saturday’s card. WSOF 1’s main card airs live Saturday on the NBC Sports Network at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Heavyweights Andrei Arlovski (247) and Devin Cole (249) each were on target for their main event.