Tony DeSouza will return to the the octagon after nearly a year away from competition to face Roan Carneiro at UFC 79 in Las Vegas:

Tony DeSouza has been slated to face Roan Carneiro in a welterweight bout at Dec. 29’s UFC 79 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. DeSouza (10-3) joins teammates BJ Penn and Joe Lauzon on the roster, while all three are currently preparing together at Penn’s MMA Academy in Hilo, Hawaii for their contests.

DeSouza’s (10-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) MMA career can be described as sporadic at best. He made his UFC debut at UFC 31 defeating Steve Berger by unanimous decision. He earned another win at UFC 32 over Paul Rodriguez before being defeated by Jutaro Nakao at UFC 33. Following the loss DeSouza was not seen in the octagon for more than five years before he returned to defeat Dustin Hazelett last October at UFC “The Final Chapter”: Tito Ortiz vs. Frank Shamrock. In his last UFC fight DeSouza was defeated by Thiago Alves at UFC 66 in December 2006.

Carneiro (11-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) debuted in the UFC at UFC Fight Night 9 in April defeating Rich Clementi by unanimous decision. The win earned Carneiro a shot against rising welterweight contender Jon Fitch at UFC Fight Night 10 in June. Fitch proved to be too much for Carneiro to handle, submitting “Jucao” by rear naked choke early in the second round of their bout.

For more on UFC 79 check out the UFC rumors section and the UFC 79 archives.

Tags: Roan Carneiro, Tony DeSouza