One of the busiest days for fight announcements in recent memory just got a little busier, as the UFC announced a pair of new matchups for UFC on FOX 7 in San Jose.
In a clash of Northern California flyweights, Sacramento’s Joseph Benavidez will take on San Francisco’s Darren Uyenoyama. And at bantamweight, slugger Francicso Rivera takes on Brazil’s Hugo Viana.
The 28 year-old Benavidez (17-3), whose only career losses are to current banatmweight champion Dominick Cruz and flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, has won five of his past six fights, with his most recent victory a decision win over Ian McCall at UFC 156. Uyenoyama (8-3) has won three in a row, most recently a second-round submission of Phil Harris on Oct. 5.
Rivera (8-2, 1 no-contest), a Southern California native, is undefeated in his past five fights. He rallied to TKO Edwin Figueroa in the second round of their UFC 156 fight. Viana, a native of Sao Paulo, is 7-0 on his career and scored a first-round knockout of Reuben Duran in his bantamweight debut at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale in December.
The announcements capped a busy Wednesday which also included news of Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC 162 and Renan Barao’s interim bantamweight title defense against Eddie Wineland atop UFC 161, among others.