Advertisement

Joseph Benavidez stuck in no man's land despite another impressive win

LAS VEGAS – UFC flyweight Joseph Benavidez is in fighter purgatory. He is, by all accounts, one of the 125-pound division’s very best talents and is 10-2 in his last 12 fights.

The problem is, those two losses came against champion Demetrious Johnson.

Joseph Benavidez celebrates after defeating John Moraga at UFC 187. (AP)
Joseph Benavidez celebrates after defeating John Moraga at UFC 187. (AP)

After a wildly entertaining unanimous decision victory over John Moraga at UFC 187 on Saturday, Benavidez – the No. 2 ranked challenger in the division – inched that much closer to a third fight with Mighty Mouse.

Unfortunately, given Benavidez’s two performances against the champ – the last coming in 2013 via devastating first-round knockout – there aren’t that many people banging down the doors at UFC HQ demanding to see that trilogy.

And Joe Benavidez gets that.

“Well, I’m a realist,” admitted Benavidez at the UFC 187 post-fight press conference, “so, I know that logically it doesn’t make sense for me to go for the title right away. I believe in my skill 100 percent, that I can go out there and beat Demetrious Johnson and give him the best fight there is. But I also know I’m not crazy. I lost to him twice. I know that’s not how it works; Dodson’s only fought him once.”

John Dodson, the flyweight division’s No. 1 contender was sitting directly to the left of Benavidez at the UFC 187 post-fight dais and perked up when his name is called. On Saturday, Dodson had a fine performance himself, dispatching No. 9 ranked Zach Makovsky via unanimous decision. It’s a fight that most think will put Dodson next in line for Johnson, and it’s as Benavidez said: Dodson has only lost to Johnson once.

Dodson's first fight with Johnson in Jan. 2013 was an outstanding one. It won Fight of the Night and it was a fight where Dodson thought he was the rightful winner, despite what the official scorecard read. And when the rematch does happen, Dodson will be ready the second time around, “Yeah, it’s a no-brainer for me,” said Dodson when asked if he thought he was next in line. “I always still want to beat up Demetrious Johnson. I want to knock him out.

“I thought I won the first time, me and him faced each other and I believe this next time we come around, the outcome is gonna be way different. I’m still going to go out there and beat him up and get a clearer victory by knocking him out.”

John Moraga, bottom, takes down Joseph Benavidez during their flyweight fight. (AP)
John Moraga, bottom, takes down Joseph Benavidez during their flyweight fight. (AP)

One person who might be cheering for a Dodson KO is Joseph Benavidez.

The reality is that no one wants to see Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez III, but everyone would be intrigued with Benavidez vs. Dodson I.

“If Dodson wins, that is probably going to expedite my journey to the title faster,” admitted Benavidez. “It’s just taking the positives of both options. So, if Dodson wins, that’d be cool; they’d probably give me a title shot right away. But with Demetrious, it would be that much more sweeter to work my way over there and beat him.”

So, is Joseph Benavidez a John Dodson fan?

“Uh, not quite,” said Benavidez.

Dodson, never short on words or a snappy delivery, shot back with a smirk: “Dude, that hurts my feelings.”

Not as much as losing to Demetrious Johnson does – and there has been plenty of that going around.

Popular MMA video on Yahoo Sports: