While Portal do Vale Tudo reported Johnny Bedford withdrawing due to injury several days ago, his replacement was only announced today. MMA Fighting has confirmed that former Bellator tournament contender Wilson Reis has been signed to face Hugo Viana on September 4 at UFC Fight Night 28: Teixeira vs. Bader. Reis is currently on a 4 fight win streak since being released from Bellator after a loss to current bantamweight title holder Eduardo Dantas in September of 2011.
With a 16-4 record, and 8 wins by submission, Reis has proven himself to be a tough fighter at a reasonably high level of the sport. He already has victories over Zach Makovsky, Bryan Caraway, and recent UFC welterweight Henry Martinez. At only 28 and standing 5'3" he has the potential to be a strong contender in the flyweight division. Of course his UFC debut won't come at flyweight, so it will be interesting to see what kind of impression he makes in his first fight, and whether he will make the drop immediately if he gets the win.
For Hugo "Wolverine" Viana this is a complete change in preparation on all levels. Bedford is a huge Bantamweight who likes to bully opponents box his way into the clinch and drag people down for heavy ground and pound. Like many aggresive grapplers Reis likes to employ a wild bullish fighting style. His kick and punch entries from the outside are pretty basic, but he transitions to grappling smoothly and has a strong double/single transition takedown game. Once on the mat he's very slick and excellent at obtaining back control.
It should be a tough test for Viana who has all kinds of power but tends to overextend himself often leaving him off balance. If Reis can take advantage of his opportunities he should get plenty of them. Here's a look at Reis' most recent fight against Owen Roddy to get us acquainted with him prior to his debut:
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