Hugo Viana Set To Fight Reuben Duran At TUF 16 Finale

The finale of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 16 is set to feature Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson, as well as the finals of the welterweight and lightweight cast. Recently, a new fight has been announced for the event, which is set for Dec. 15, 2012, at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, as reported by MMA Interviews:

Reuben Duran will make his comeback fight after a long lay off at the Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale going down Dec. 15 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. His opponent is TUF Brazil vet Hugo"Wolverine" Viana, who will be trying to remain undefeated. MMAinterviews learned from sources close to the fighters that bout agreements have been signed and sent.

Duran (8-3, 1-1 UFC) has been out of commission since June of last year. In his UFC debut, he lost a tough split decision to Takeya Mizugaki, then came back later that year to submit knockout artist Francisco Rivera. After the Rivera win, Duran suffered subsequent shoulder and knee injuries, which have kept him out of commission for so long. He'll have to worry about being a bit rusty, but Reuben probably needs a nice win bonus after such a long layoff.

Viana (6-0, 1-0 UFC), who has fought his entire career at featherweight, will be dropping to bantamweight for the first time in his career for this fight. A recent contestant on TUF: Brazil, "Wolverine" was well-liked by viewers for his exciting style, and he made it up to the semi-finals before being defeated by Rony Jason, the eventual winner of the show. After the show, Viana defeated John Teixeira by split decision at a 150-pound catchweight after Teixeira missed weight. He will look to keep his unbeaten record as a professional alive as he looks for his seventh win against Duran.