Ultimate Fighting Championship

Joseph Benavidez faces Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night in New Zealand

Published Mar. 23, 2017 6:34 p.m. ET

Damon Martin

Top ranked flyweight competitor Joseph Benavidez is back in action but he's not getting another shot at champion Demetrious Johnson just yet.

Instead, Benavidez will face off with Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night in New Zealand on June 10 airing live on FS1.

UFC officials announced the new pairing on Thursday.

Benavidez (25-4) has long been considered one of the best flyweight fighters in the world, but two prior losses to Johnson have kept him out of title contention.

With six wins in a row, Benavidez has certainly made his case for another shot at the gold, but the UFC has other ideas with him traveling to New Zealand for his next fight instead.

Nguyen (17-6) will take the biggest step up in competition in his UFC career when he faces Benavidez in June.

Most recently, Nguyen defeated Geane Herrera, which put his UFC record at 3-1 overall with his only loss coming to Louis Smolka last July.

Also announced for the growing card in New Zealand was another flyweight fight as former title contender John Moraga faces off with newcomer Ashkan Mokhtarian.

The upcoming card in New Zealand will be headlined by heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Mark Hunt along with an intriguing middleweight matchup between Derek Brunson and local favorite Dan Kelly.

Get more from Ultimate Fighting Championship Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Ultimate Fighting Championship