After former UFC Flyweight Title Challenger Joseph Benavidez suffered a torn ACL and had to pull out of his fight against Ben Nguyen, news has emerged that Tim Elliot will step in to face Nguyen in New Zealand.
Fox Sports’ Damon Martin first reported the news.
Tim Elliott will replace Joseph Benavidez and face Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night in New Zealand#UFC
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) May 11, 2017
Elliot (14-7-1) is also a former title challenger, and may well have gave current kingpin Demetrious Johnson his toughest test to date. The 30-year-old couldn’t quite do the job, though, and lost the fight via decision. In his most recent outing, Elliot returned, and defeated Louis Smolka by decision.
Nguyen (17-6) is coming off a decision victory over Geane Herrera. That win came after “Ben 10” was stopped by Louis Smolka at UFC Sioux Falls. The loss snapped a two fight win streak for Nguyen, who is 3-1 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC Fight Night 110 takes place live from the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, on June 11. The card is set to be headlined by a heavyweight fight between Derrick Lewis and Mark Hunt.
