Joseph Benavidez
A couple more bouts have been confirmed for this April’s upcoming trip to San Jose as flyweight fighter Joseph Benavidez (17-3) meets San Francisco fighter Darren Uyenoyama (8-3), while a previously identified bantamweight match between Francisco Rivera (9-2) and TUF Brasil’s Hugo ‘Wolverine’ Viana (7-0) was confirmed.
Officials with the promotion announced the new matchups on the web at UFC.com on Wednesday.
UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez (aka UFC on FOX 7) is expected to take place on April 20, 2013 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The event will see lightweight champ Benson Henderson defend his title versus the final Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melenedez.
Benavidez is 5-1 in his last six matches earning a decision win over Ian McCall last month at UFC 156. Prior to that Benavidez lost a split decision against Demetrious Johnson in a bout to crown the promotions first flyweight champion last September at UFC 152.
Uyenoyama debuted at flyweight in his last bout earning a second round submission victory against Phil Harris at the UFC on FX 5 event. The bout was Uyenoyama’s third straight victory and second in the UFC. The San Francisco fighter debuted in he Octagon in November 2011 at the UFC on FOX 1 event, picking up a decision against Norifumi Yamamoto.
Rivera is in his second run with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is currently 4-0 with 1 “No Contest.” His last fight went down just last month in Vegas at UFC 156 which ended in a second round TKO victory over opponent Edwin Figueroa. Prior to that, Rivera had a knockout win over Roland Delorme changed to a “No Contest” after testing positive for a banned substance.
Viana is undefeated so far in his pro-career with two victories under the UFC banner. His last fight went down in December at the TUF 16 Finale which saw Viana debut at bantamweight picking up a first round knockout over Reuben Duran.