A pair of flyweight bouts have been officially confirmed for the UFC 193 card scheduled for Melbourne on November 15 with Richie Vaculik taking on Danny Martinez and Brisbane based American Ben Nguyen facing off against Ryan Benoit.
Both match-ups were revealed on Fox Sports Australia’s UFC Fight Week program on Thursday night.
Vaculik, a co-host of the show commented on the match-up.
“Danny Martinez is a dangerous fighter. Someone I’m super exicted to be facing down in Melbourne.”
It will be a must-win fight for both Vaculik and Martinez with the Aussie having won just once in his three bouts in the Octagon while Danny Martinez has lost three straight since debuting in the UFC back in February 2014.
Twenty-seven year-old Ben Nguyen will be hoping to continue his rapid rise when he faces 26-year-old American Ryan Benoit.
After relocating from South Dakota to Thailand to attempt to further his MMA career, Nguyen settled in Brisbane, Australia where he currently trains at the Integrated MMA gym. Video of Nguyen knocking out Julian ‘Julz The Jackal’ Rabaud on the local Australian circuit went viral and shortly after Nguyen secured his UFC contract. Inside the Octagon, he impressed with a first-round KO over Alptekin Ozkilic back in May.
After a 7-2 record on the American regional scene, Benoit got his opportunity inside the UFC back in November 2013 however the Texas based fighter suffered a submission loss at the hands of Josh Sampo. After an extended layoff, Benoit bounced back to record the biggest win of his career when he scored a TKO finish over Sergio Pettis back in March.
Both fights are going to be on the undercard portion of the event. Headlining the event will be UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey who meets former boxing champion Holly Holm.
Fight card announced:
- Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm – UFC women’s bantamweight title
- Mark Hunt vs Antonio Silva
- Robert Whittaker vs Michael Bisping
- Jake Matthews vs Akbarh Arreola
- Kyle Noke vs Peter Sobotta
- Anthony Perosh vs Gian Villante
- Daniel Kelly vs Ricardo Abreu
- Richard Walsh vs Steve Kennedy
- Brendan O’Reilly vs William Macario
- Ben Nguyen vs Ryan Benoit
- Richie Vaculik vs Danny Martinez
