Hugo Viana

Hugo Miguel Ferreira Gomes Viana (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈuɣu ˈvjɐnɐ]; born 15 January 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Al-Wasl F.C. in the United Arab Emirates as a central midfielder.

His main assets are good set pieces and passing skills. After starting out at Sporting he moved abroad at the age of 19, going on to have unassuming spells in England (Newcastle United) and Spain (Valencia) before settling back in his country with Braga. He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 165 games and 23 goals over the course of six seasons.

Viana represented Portugal in two World Cups and Euro 2012, also appearing with the under-23s at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Club career

Sporting / Newcastle

Born in Barcelos, Viana started his professional career at Sporting Clube de Portugal where he won the Young European Footballer of the Year award, after an excellent debut season in the Primeira Liga and, aged 19, was signed by Premier League's Newcastle United for €12 million. He played there for two seasons, scoring four times, against FK Željezničar Sarajevo and Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League and Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion in the league.

Hugo Viana (fighter)

Hugo Viana (born September 26, 1982) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Wolverine made a name for himself competing on the first season of Globo's The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. He is signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), fighting in its bantamweight division.

Mixed martial arts career

Viana decided to begin training in mixed martial arts in 2010 after admiring the sport for several years and having trained in Tae Kwon Do since he was 12 years old and in Boxing and Wing Chun since age of 21. In 2005, he took up Brazilian jiu-jitsu before he began his MMA training with Champions Team MMA in his hometown of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Wolverine (nicknamed after the Marvel Comics character) did not spend long on the amateur circuit, only competing in one fight before turning professional only a few months later.

He made his professional debut on May 26, 2010 against Marcelo Santos at a Win Fight and Entertainment event. Hugo won the fight via unanimous decision after three rounds. He fought on the next Win Fight card in August 2010 against Marcelo Palombo de Souza, winning the fight via split decision. From November 2010 to September 2011 Hugo fought three times, winning all three fights via unanimous decision to bring his record to 5-0. He tried out for a spot on the first installment of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil and was selected.