UFC 142: Edson Barboza vs Terry Etim and Thiago Tavares vs Sam Stout booked for Jan. 14 in Rio

There's a fantastic lightweight battle brewing for the promotion's return to Brazil as Rio de Janeiro's own Edson Barboza will put his undefeated streak on the light against the equally dangerous Terry Etim at UFC 142, currently booked for the HSBC Arena on Jan. 14, 2012.

Also announced for the South American pay-per-view will be a 155-pound scrap that pits the submission-savvy Thiago Tavares against the stone hands of Sam Stout.

From the UFC's official Twitter:

Good morning. Sam Stout VS Thiago Tavares at UFC 142 in Brazil? Okay! Need another UFC 142 matchup to move forward with your day? Terry Etim and Edson Barboza. !!

Barboza (9-0) was last seen outpointing Ross Pearson at the UFC 134 event earlier this year, and presents a considerable test for Etim (15-3), who returned to action just last month with a submission win over Edward Faaloloto.

Like Barboza, Tavares (16-4-1) got his hands dirty in Rio by stopping Spencer Fisher in the second round via technical knockout. He'll probably want to get back to grappling against Stout (17-6-1), who dimmed the lights for Yves Edwards via knockout at UFC 131 back in June.

Still not enough?

UFC 142 will feature featherweight champion Jose Aldo defending his 145-pound title against undefeated wrestler Chad Mendes. In addition, Vitor Belfort will strap on the gloves to try and ruin Anthony Johnson's debut at middleweight.

In other words, it's going to be a great night of fights.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for future updates to this still-developing fight card.