Whether or no longer he likes it or no longer, Joseph Benavidez has been here sooner than.
Regarded as one of the crucial finest flyweights on the UFC roster since the inception of the division, the four-time title contender has attain impossibly shut to shooting gold but composed never reached that pinnacle in his occupation.
Essentially the newest instance came this past July when Benavidez took on Deiveson Figueiredo for a second time after their first fight resulted in controversial fashion following an accidental head butt no longer to level out the Brazilian failing to electrify weight, which made him ineligible to in actuality engage the championship.
The second meeting left no question, alternatively, as Figueiredo dominated Benavidez sooner than ending the fight with a rear-naked choke earlier to the tip of the valuable spherical. It modified into clearly no longer the tip consequence Benavidez obligatory but he also understands that’s a likelihood each and each time he objects foot within the octagon to procedure fight with one more man.
“It’s the cruelest of sports activities and the entire lot however the procedure in which I ogle at it is a ways every person is conscious of the sacrifices coming into into,” Benavidez defined when talking to MMA Fighting. “Each person is conscious of the hazards coming into into and we have now the chance and the likelihood to dash greatness but every person is conscious of the hazards of that.
“On the tip of the day should always you lose, it’s devastating. You set aside so considerable into it and also you’re so shut to these items and it is a ways devastating but on the tip of the day every person is conscious of what fighting consists of. We are mindful of it’s a merciless b*tch. Each person is conscious of the hazards being alive to and we have now a system to dash greatness and that’s an overwhelming selection that quite a few other folks don’t have. Any other folks don’t have a vary.”
As complicated because it modified into to return up short in his newest mumble to change into champion, Benavidez had to at final accumulate the defeat in interpret to switch forward with his occupation.
“When it works out, it’s inconceivable. When it doesn’t, it’s like hey, we knew the selection,” Benavidez said. “We knew what we had been entering. We’ve all felt it sooner than.
“Some are positively more troublesome than others and it never in actuality gets much less difficult but it undoubtedly’s the nature of the beast. You’ve received to ogle at it like that is what I chose. You’ve received to be accountable for it.”
In the wake of these two losses to Figueiredo, many puzzled if Benavidez would possibly possibly be coming to the tip of his occupation, in particular after clearly bringing up that he modified into only attracted to facing the finest of the finest because becoming steady one more title on the roster modified into the final thing he obligatory.
Benavidez stands by that declaration, which is why he didn’t accumulate provides to return to motion earlier to his upcoming matchup in opposition to Askar Askarov at UFC 259.
“This guy appears like a future contender, future champion and that’s the roughly guys I wish to fight,” Benavidez said. “I fought in July and I’m fighting in March. I took that time off but I modified into equipped fights a few months sooner than the year [was over] but they weren’t the fights that intrigued me. Because like I’ve said, I steady wish to fight the finest. The belt is the belt but there’s guys who’re the finest and they’re on the tip.
“Obviously, I obligatory to steal some time to rest steady most ceaselessly but after I even started feeling factual, it’s like why would I wish to fight this one? I didn’t have a why and when Askar came alongside I said that’s why. That’s why it took so long. After I locked in a factual date and an opponent, that’s what inflamed me.”
With a supreme 12-0-1 listing, Askrov has made a short stand up the ranks at 125 kilos including wins over Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott besides razor-shut split procedure in opposition to Brandon Moreno, who is the No. 1 contender steady now at flyweight.
A engage over that roughly opponent retains Benavidez on the tip of the division and goes a protracted manner to level to he’s composed an elite competitor as opposed to steady a gatekeeper to the flyweight championship.
“What I’ve completed my entire occupation is roam after this title and be so shut to it, I’ve said over and over that’s my purpose,” Benavidez said. “After I do know I can’t be the finest there’s no longer in actuality a level for me to fight.
“Any other folks procedure it for this, every other folks procedure it for that but I don’t procedure it to be the 15th finest within the sphere. I can composed level to I’m one of the crucial finest after even these final two fights where I’m no longer going to be ‘the finest’ and I can composed roam fight on the tip with the finest and that’s what I wish to procedure.”
