Former UFC champ Anderson Silva hosts Tuesday press conference in Brazil

The countdown has officially begun for former longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva‘s return to the cage. On Tuesday, the MMA great hosts a press conference for his long-awaited return fight.

MMAjunkie will stream the media event, which takes place at Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, beginning at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT).

Silva (33-6 MMA, 16-2 UFC), who’s been on the sidelines since a brutal leg break in a late-2013 title loss to champ Chris Weidman, next fights veteran welterweight and former Strikeforce titleholder Nick Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC). Their highly anticipated main event takes place at UFC 183, which airs on pay-per-view Jan. 31 in Las Vegas.

Silva, who’s documented his recovery over the past year, recently promised he’ll be “100 percent” come fight night.

Prior to the leg break and and a pair of title losses to Weidman, Silva had a record seven-year reign as champion that included 10 consecutive title defenses, also a record. Although once MMA’s undisputed pound-for-pound kingpin, the 39-year-old Brazilian is currently ranked No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings (and No. 7 in the pound-for-pound rankings).

Join us Tuesday for full coverage of Silva’s press conference.

And for more on UFC 183, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.