A flyweight fight between Joseph Benavidez and Ben Nguyen has been announced for UFC Fight Night 110 in Auckland, New Zealand on June 10th.
Benavidez is in a strange spot in the 125lb division. Despite being firmly wedged in the No.1 contender spot and currently enjoying a six-fight winning streak over the past three years, he’s now going to be fighting a fighter who’s barely got a footing in the top 15 rankings.
The reason for that is that Benavidez has pretty much fought and beaten everyone else in the weight class, with the exception of long-time champion Demetrious Johnson, who he’s tried and failed to get the better of on two separate occasions now.
Clearly it seems that the UFC are somewhat reluctant to give him a third shot at his nemesis, despite the fact that he defeated the current No.2 contender Henry Cejudo last time out, and so there’s little he can do except continue to fight and hope that either ‘Mighty Mouse’ loses, or runs out of other suitable title contenders.
As for No.13 ranked Nguyen, this is a tough test, but one that could help propel his career if he can somehow find a way to get the better of Benavidez.
Nguyen is currently 3-1 in his UFC run and is coming off a decision win over Geane Herrera back in November and that takes his overall career record to 17-6.
Benavidez Vs Nguyen joins a UFC Fight Night 110 card that will be headlined by New Zealand’s own Mark Hunt Vs Derrick Lewis, while Derek Brunson Vs Dan Kelly has also been announced for the main card.
