Bellator Fighting Championships will hold a special media conference call today (Jan. 10, 2012) in advance of the promotion's debut on Spike TV, which is expected to begin next week (Jan. 17).

The conference call will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. ET. Scheduled to attend will be long time veteran 205-pounder Renato Sobral.

Sobral is a former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger. "Babalu" is expected to participate in the promotion's upcoming light heavyweight tournament and is currently scheduled to fight Russian Sambo specialist Mikhail Zayats at Bellator 85 in exactly one week.

The talented Brazilian was one of Bellator's prized signings to their 205-pound division alongside Muhammed Lawal, who will also be a participant in the upcoming tournament, which could earn either man a potential $100,000 and a shot at the winner of the upcoming Christian M'Pumbu vs. Attila Vegh title fight later this year.

Stay tuned.

Brian Hemminger here. The conference call is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET.

6:35 p.m. - The call is getting started.

Babalu: I have been working a lot on my cardio and training my jiu-jitsu as always.

Babalu: I coudn't do TUF Brazil because I can't be in two places at once.

Babalu: Ring rust is not an issue for me.

Babalu: My opponent is a very good fighter. I'm training very hard just to beat him and to be a champion of the whole tournament.

Babalu: I think I'll have an advantage over him in everything.

Babalu: I'm not looking forward to any other fighter in particular

Babalu: Training for this fight and for me to fight in this tournament format has to be smart. You have to train with a vision to fight again in a short period.

Babalu: For $100,000, I have no problem who my opponents are.

Babalu: Light heavyweight for me is natural.

That's a wrap