Heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee has re-signed with the UFC and will face Philip De Fries at UFC 155 in December.
UFC officials confirmed the news Wednesday following a report by The Las Vegas Sun. The heavyweight bout is expected to be on the preliminary portion of UFC 155, which takes place Dec. 29, in Las Vegas.
Duffee, 26, returns to the Octagon for the first time since his unexpected release in September 2010. He posted a 1-1 record outside the promotion, including a 19-second knockout loss to Alistair Overeem in December 2010.
He fills a spot vacated by Matt Mitrione, who was originally scheduled to face De Fries before agreeing to replace the injured Shane Carwin in a bout against Roy Nelson on Dec. 15.
Duffee (7-2) burst onto the UFC scene with a seven-second knockout over Tim Hague in August 2009. He followed that performance with a knockout loss to Mike Russow nine months later.
De Fries (9-1) represents another prospect in the UFC heavyweight division. The 26-year-old suffered the first loss of his professional career to Stipe Miocic via first-round knockout in February, but rebounded with a submission win over Oli Thompson in August.
