The UFC has announced via Twitter this morning that a lightweight battle between Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout and Thiago Tavares has been added to the card for UFC 142 in Brazil. The announcement has also been confirmed by MMAweekly.com.
The event is set to take place on January 14th and will mark the second time the UFC has held an event in Brazil in less than a year. A featherweight title match between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes will headline the event.
Tavares will be fighting for the second consecutive time in his home country after beating Spencer Fisher via TKO at UFC 134. Stout will be making his return to the octagon after knocking out Yves Edwards in June at UFC 131 in Vancouver.
Stout was originally scheduled to face Denis Siver at UFC 137 in Las Vegas on October 29th but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to the sudden death of his coach Shawn Tompkins in August.
Stout is 17-6-1 in his career and 4-1 in his last five fights in the UFC. He has been inching his way towards the lightweight top ten and his no-holds-barred striking style and granite chin has made him a fan favorite and fight bonus magnet.
Tavares is 16-4 and 3-1-1 in his last five fights and he will be looking to keep pace with Stout and others rising in the ranks of the lightweight division.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and correspondent for MMACanada.net.
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