That time Ben Nguyen felt just like Peter Griffin from 'Family Guy' before UFC-Auckland (sigh)

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – You know that gut feeling when things seem a little too good to be true?

Flyweight standout Ben Nguyen recently had that feeling ahead of a scheduled UFC Fight Night 110 appointment with two-time title challenger Joseph Benavidez at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Only in his case, it turned out to be justifiable.

“I woke up that day sort of expecting it,” Nguyen told MMAjunkie. “I was like, ‘Everything is going really well. Camp is going really well.’ And I reached for my phone when I woke up, and I saw the news.

“I put my phone back down, and I was like – you know in ‘Family Guy,’ when Peter (Griffin) goes like (frustration sigh). That’s what I was doing.”

The news, of course, was that Benavidez (25-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC), a perennial contender and the No. 2 ranked fighter in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings, was injured and out of their scrap.

While Nguyen’s (17-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) disappointment was “huge,” it didn’t take long for the UFC to find a replacement in former title challenger and No. 15 Tim Elliott (14-7-1 MMA, 3-5 UFC). The two now meet on the FS1-televised main portion of Saturday’s event.

At the end of the day, Nguyen was looking for a challenge. And, as he’d already discussed with MMAjunkie before, Elliott certainly fits the bill. Not to mention, there’s certainly some validation in having not one, but two worthy contenders stepping up to face him.

“It feels good,” Nguyen said. “To be able to fight guys like these guys makes me feel like I belong in the division. I’ve been doing it for a long time, 10 years, and seeing Joseph Benavidez, watching him on TV, and getting a chance to fight him. Now Tim Elliott. It’s really exciting. This is where I’ve ever dreamed to be. This is it. I’m living it.”

For more on Nguyen, including a reenactment of the famous Peter Griffin sigh, check out the video above.

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