To date Brown, an Australian army veteran and corrections officer with an MMA record of 17-9, has had an absolute rollercoaster of a UFC career.

Just over a year ago he was thrust into the spotlight when he was forced to make a brutal weight cut to face Brazilian Alan Patrick on just a week's notice.

Brown was competitive, perhaps even winning the first round until the weight cut inevitably took its toll, but even exhausted he went the distance with the Brazilian grappling ace.

His second fight, at UFC 201 in Atlanta, Georgia, lasted just under a round with Brown blasting Brazilian muay thai national champion Cesar Arzamendia into unconsciousness with a series of picture perfect right hands.

Even then, Brown had to fight his way out of a brutally tight heel-hook to claim the victory.

He was in trouble in his next fight against John Tuck at UFC Fight Night Melbourne in November, finishing the first round with blood pouring from his broken nose, but he fought back to claim a split decision.

Quite simply, it doesn't matter who he's fighting, or how out-gunned he seems - you can't count Damien Brown out.

His opponent, American Vinc Pichel is cut from the same cloth, or at least he was - he hasn't fought since 2014.

To put that in perspective, his last fight - a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Njokuani at UFC 173 - came when Conor McGregor, with just two fights in the UFC, was relatively unknown.

Pichel, a semi-finalist on Season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter, lost his first fight in the UFC via a suplex from Rustam Khabilov, but rebounded with decision wins over Garrett Whiteley and Njokuani.

A large, rangy lightweight, it's not clear why Pinchel hasn't fought in three years but he's in for a torrid time against Brown, who is hell bent on moving up the UFC rankings.

UFC Auckland is headlined by a heavyweight battle between fan favourites Mark Hunt and Derrick Lewis, while Melbourne's Dan Kelly will look to continue his improbable rise up the UFC middleweight rankings in the co-main event as he takes on Derek Brunson.

Brisbane's Nguyen has possibly been given the biggest task in a sign the UFC truly have high hopes for the Sioux Falls native, pitting him against flyweight destroyer Joseph Benavidez, a man who has never lost to anyone not called Dominick Cruz or Demetrious Johnson, while Mokhtarian will make his UFC debut at bantamweight against former flyweight title challenger John Moraga.