Joseph Benavidez says he's injured, out of UFC Fight Night 110 bout vs. Ben Nguyen

Joseph Benavidez today announced he has suffered an undisclosed injury, which has forced him to withdraw from his fight against Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night 110.

The two-time UFC flyweight title challenger broke the news on his official Twitter account, two months after accepting the fight for the June 10 event at Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.

“I’ll focus on what I can do and be back,” he wrote. “Thank you for the support.”

UFC Fight Night 110 is headlined by a heavyweight bout between Mark Hunt and Derrick Lewis. It’s expected to air on FS1 with prelims streaming on UFC Fight Pass.

The fight kept Benavidez (25-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) treading water amid a longtime effort to get a third title shot at champ Demetrious Johnson, who remains the only person to defeat him as a UFC flyweight. This past December, Benavidez told MMAjunkie that Johnson was the only logical option for his career.

“That’s all I want,” Benavidez said. “That’s kind of what would complete me, in a way. That’s kind of all I really want or need, and I think that’s really the only option. So I guess the only thing I’m waiting for is when it’s going to happen.”

Despite his status as the No. 2 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings, Benavidez was unsuccessful in convincing UFC brass to give him another chance. A rematch with rival and opposing “The Ultimate Fighter 24” coach Henry Cejudo didn’t materialize, so he took the fight with Nguyen (17-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who is 3-1 in the promotion and recently outpointed Geane Herrera at UFC Fight Night 101.

With one month until the event, there is enough time for the UFC to look for a replacement to meet Nguyen, though no word on if that’s the case.

For more on UFC Fight Night 110, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.