Joseph Benavidez's first match back from an unsuccessful WEC bantamweight title bid in August will be against former IFL champ Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 52 on Nov. 11 in Las Vegas.The WEC on Monday announced Benadvidez as the new opponent for Fabiano, filling in for the injured Brian Bowles.
"Joseph is a speedy striker with great wrestling and Wagnney is one of the best jiu jitsu practitioners in the world," WEC general manager Reed Harris stated. "This is a very intriguing matchup."
At WEC 50, Benavidez (12-2) fell short once again to champion Dominick Cruz by decision this time with a championship on the line. Both of Benavidez's career losses have been at the hands of the current champion.
A former featherweight titleholder with the IFL, Fabiano (14-2) moved down to bantamweight earlier this year and is currently 2-0 in the division. As a member of the WEC roster, Fabiano is 4-1 and would have probably been in the WEC title contention by now had it not been for a shocking loss to Mackens Semerzier last October. A win over Benavidez here could revive Fabiano's title hopes.
WEC 52 features a main event between Urijah Faber and Takeya Mizugaki. Also, rising star Josh Grispi could get one step closer to Jose Aldo if he can surpass Erik Koch in a featured bout.
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