Ben Nguyen


Ben Nguyen or Nguyễn Ben, is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he compiled a record of 4–3 with the organization. He is also Nitro Bantamweight Champion, K-Oz Bantamweight Champion and No. 1 Bantamweight in Australia.

MMA career

Early career

Nguyen began his professional mixed martial arts career while working during the day as a computer technician. In 2012 he went to Thailand to attend Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Scholar Athlete program. He then moved to Brisbane, Australia fighting from there.
Nguyen made his professional MMA debut in December 2006, losing his first fight. Over the next nearly eight years, he amassed a record of 14 wins against 5 losses; in the process he became the Nitro Bantamweight Champion, K-Oz Bantamweight Champion and the number one Bantamweight in Australia, in 2015.
Nguyen achieved internet fame when his fight versus Julian Wallace surfaced on YouTube in 2013. Wallace attempted to intimidate Nguyen at the pre-fight weigh-ins by forcefully putting his fist against Nguyen's chin and trying to put Nguyen off his game. This tactic, however, proved ineffective as Nguyen knocked Wallace out within 25 seconds of the first round. The video of this fight went viral and has amassed over 18 million views on YouTube, and over a 100 million views on Facebook and other social network platforms.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Nguyen made his promotional debut, facing Alptekin Özkılıç on May 10, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 65. He won the fight via KO in the first round.
Nguyen faced Ryan Benoit on November 15, 2015 at UFC 193. He won the fight via submission in the first round.
Nguyen was expected to face Justin Scoggins on March 20, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 85. However, Scoggins pulled out of the fight in the week leading up to the event citing injury. As a result, Nguyen was pulled from the card entirely.
Nguyen next faced Louis Smolka on July 13, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 91. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.
Nguyen faced Geane Herrera on November 27, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 101. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Nguyen was expected to face Joseph Benavidez on June 11, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 110. However, Benavidez pulled out of the fight on May 10 with a knee injury and was replaced by Tim Elliott. He won the fight by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round. The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
Nguyen faced Jussier Formiga on February 11, 2018 at UFC 221. He lost the fight via technical submission in the third round due to a rear-naked choke.
Nguyen faced Wilson Reis on December 2, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 142. He lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Rizin Fighting Federation

On January 31, 2019 Rizin Fighting Federation announced Nguyen had signed for the promotion. He faced Kyoji Horiguchi in a 132 pound catchweight bout on April 21, 2019 at Rizin 15. Nguyen lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Personal life

Nguyen's hometown is Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Nguyen said that he started Taekwondo when he was twelve years old after he was bullied in school. After high school, he went to college to become an engineer but then he switched paths to follow his dream of becoming an MMA fighter.
Nguyen met his wife, Brisbane kickboxer April Adams, while training in Thailand, eventually following her to make Brisbane his home. They married in late 2015. In a 2015 video, Nguyen said that he owns two cats which were both about a year old. Nguyen said that he likes cars and motorcycles.
Ben is a fan of the anime Hajime no Ippo. He's said that the show had been an inspiration to him as long as he's been fighting. He uses "Inner Light," one of the anime's opening songs, as his intro song for his fights.

Championships and accomplishments