Joseph Benavidez will have to fight at least one more time before receiving a third title shot.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently announced that Benavidez is set to battle Ben Nguyen on June 11 inside the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The flyweight tilt will be part of the UFC Fight Night 110 card.
Benavidez sits at No. 1 on the official UFC 125-pound rankings. Despite going 6-0 since his last title bout, the Team Alpha Male fighter is in a tough situation. He has fallen short to reigning flyweight title holder Demetrious Johnson twice. In their first encounter, Benavidez lost by split decision. He was knocked out the second go-round.
As for Nguyen, this can easily be seen as the biggest fight of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Since entering the UFC, Nguyen has fought the likes of Alp Ozkilic, Ryan Benoit, Louis Smolka, and Geane Herrera. Of those four opponents, only Smolka was able to defeat Nguyen.
In the main event of UFC Fight Night 110, Mark Hunt battles Derek Lewis in a heavyweight clash. It’ll be Hunt’s first combat sports bout in Auckland since July 2001. Also featured on the main card will be a middleweight scrap between Derek Brunson and Daniel Kelly.
