Joseph Benavidez sees himself among some of the best UFC fighters in history to have never enjoyed the feeling of championship glory inside the Octagon. The veteran knows all too well the feeling of always being the bridesmaid but never the bride, but on Saturday night, Benavidez will once again get a chance at rectifying that and etching his name in the promotion's history book.
Benavidez (28-6), who recorded the first victory in the UFC 125-pound division's history in 2012, enters Saturday's rematch with Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi for the vacant flyweight title believing what we all know is true: This is the 35-year-old's last chance at hoisting UFC gold.
"I thought [his first fight with Figueiredo] was my last title fight, but this one definitely is as far as title attempt. This is my last shot," Benavidez said during Thursday's media scrum. "I fought through 10 fights to get here and an ACL surgery.
"To not see my name not on the list at all is going to feel even better."
Henry Cejudo's decision to vacate the flyweight crown in 2019 opened up a last-shot scenario for Benavidez, who narrowly lost a split decision to Demetrious Johnson in the UFC's inaugural 125-pound title fight in 2012 before being knocked out in their rematch one year later. He spent the next seven years rebuilding for one final push at the title. Along with defeating Cejudo in their 2016 slugfest, Benavidez brought a 9-1 record in his previous 10 fights into his first meeting against Figueiredo in February. Then the drama ensued.
Figueiredo (18-1) missed weight and lost a shot at winning the belt. Then, late in a first round largely dominated by Benavidez, an accidental head butt from Figueiredo opened up a bad cut. One round later, Figueiredo delivered the knockout blow that appeared initially to end Benavidez's title dreams.
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New life came, however, with the UFC's decision to rebook the fight with the title at stake, but even that almost fell apart. Figueiredo originally tested positive for COVID-19 and eventually wasn't cleared to make the trip to Fight Island in the United Arab Emirates following additional tests until the middle of fight week.
Benavidez spent the latter part of training camp knowing he could end up fighting Alexandre Pantoja, UFC's third-ranked flyweight, at the last minute should Figueiredo miss weight or not be cleared to fight.
"It has been a challenge. It has been pretty hard. The way the last fight went was pretty traumatic, honestly," Benavidez said. "Everything was perfect for that fight and it didn't go my way. Then we went into quarantine, where I had to sit in it and sulk in it more. A lot of the way to get over a fight is to get in the gym. I really couldn't do that.
"I knew the fight was happening the whole time, so I was just waiting for everything to get normal. I got the fight but I wouldn't say I was excited again. It's just different. I just feel like I'm doing the same thing and it's Groundhog Day and I'm waking up."
If Figueiredo has his way, Benavidez will be waking up from a second-straight knockout this weekend and the 32-year-old slugger bringing his first world title back to his native Brazil. Figueiredo believes the trash talk between them over the difficult circumstances surrounding both of their fights has become personal, and he intends to make Benavidez pay.
"I'm going to have no mercy on Saturday [because] I do have a problem with this guy," Figueiredo said. "He was saying things about me without knowing anything. If he stands there and strikes me, I'm going to rip his head off. If he grapples me, I'm going to submit him.
"I'm much stronger than him and I'm going to be faster. I'm going to get him."
Benavidez believes his success in the opening round of their first fight was due to the boldness he had in looking to defeat Figueiredo at what he does best as an aggressive stalker. It's a strategy Benavidez admits is a dangerous one, however, and does rest easy believing he can defeat Figueiredo in all areas during the rematch depending upon where the fight goes.
"I think I gave him every chance to win even though I beat him at what he was trying to do," Benavidez said. "Everything lined up for him. He fights aggressive, but I'm an aggressive fighter, too. I take pride in beating people at what they are good at. He's aggressive and that's his best thing, so I want to stand toe to toe with him and beat him there. I think my best way to beat him is fight like I can. I can beat him at his own game and I have many more layers to fight him tactically."
Below you can have a look at the complete UFC Fight Night card set for Saturday -- with odds provided via William Hill Sportsbook -- as well as how you can catch the action live.
UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 card, odds
- Deiveson Figueiredo -210 vs. Joseph Benavidez +175, vacant flyweight championship
- Kelvin Gastelum -115 vs. Jack Hermansson -105, middleweights
- Marc Diakiese -160 vs. Rafael Fiziev +135, lightweights
- Ariane Lipski -130 vs. Luana Carolina +110, women's flyweights
- Alexandre Pantoja -200 vs. Askar Askarov +170, flyweights
- Roman Dolidze -190 vs. Khadis Ibragimov +160, light heavyweights
- Grant Dawson -240 vs. Nad Narimani +200, 150-pound catchweight
- Joseph Duffy -360 vs. Joel Álvarez +280, lightweights
- Montel Jackson -240 vs. Brett Johns +200, bantamweights
- Amir Albazi vs. Malcolm Gordon, flyweights
- Arman Tsarukyan -200 vs. Davi Ramos +170, lightweights
- Sergey Spivak -150 vs. Carlos Felipe +125, heavyweights
UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 info
- Date: July 18
- Location: Flash Forum -- Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
- Start time: 8 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+
Prediction
Even with Benavidez's advantages from a technical standpoint and his comfortability on the ground, he has endured enough bad luck in his endless pursuit of a world title that it's worth debating whether fighting for a decision is worth the risk. Avoiding a reckless posture against a fighter as dangerous as Figueiredo is certainly key, but so is pushing the pace in an effort to expose any potential difficulties of Figueiredo's weight cut or abnormal journey to simply arriving to fight.
Should Benavidez prove able to set a quick pace while keeping Figueiredo at distance, a carpe diem-like approach of attempting to seize the title via stoppage could be the right play given all of the scenarios in play. It could also get him knocked out a second time.
Either way, an aggressive tone and a lightning pace could be Benavidez's best play. And while the idea of karma doesn't necessarily have a place in handicapping fights, no one is more due for some good luck than Benavidez. Pick: Benavidez via unanimous decision
Who will win Figueiredo vs. Benavidez, and how exactly will each fight on the card end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight on Saturday's card, all from the accomplished expert who's up nearly $21,000 and has nailed 14 straight main events.
