Todd Duffee
With an injury to TUF 16 coach Shane Carwin and heavyweight Matt Mitrione taking his place at the shows finale, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has turned to former promotion fighter Todd Duffee (7-2).
Duffee returns after a two-and-a-half year absence and will face Mitrione’s former opponent Phil De Fries (9-1, 1NC) at the end year UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez II event.
Officials announced the matchup at UFC.com on Wednesday afternoon.
UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez II is expected to take place on Dec. 29, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Duffee hasn’t competed since this past April when he debuted under the Super Fight League banner by stopping Bellator tournament heavyweight Neil Grove via first round TKO. The win ended a two fight losing skid dating back to 2010. The most previous loss took place in December 2010, signing with DREAM at the last moment against Alistair Overeem. The bout would end in 19-seconds with Duffee laid out after a knockout. Duffee’s other loss was also his last appearance in the Octagon, suffering a knockout defeat against Mike Russow at UFC 114.
De Fries is 2-1 in the UFC, having submitted fellow countryman Oli Thompson in August at UFC on FOX 4. His other Octagon bouts were a knockout loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC on FUEL TV 1 and a unanimous decision win against Rob Broughton at UFC 138. The win, De Fries Octagon debut, was his fourth straight win but kept his record undefeated at the time.