Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC on Fight Island 2 went down last Sat. night (July 18, 2020) inside Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Kelvin Gastelum, who was submitted by Jack Hermansson in under 80 seconds via heel hook (see it again here). And Luana Carolina, who nearly had her knee ripped right out of its socket thanks to a devastating kneebar from Ariane Lipski (see it). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?
Joseph Benavidez.
Coming into his Flyweight championship rematch against Deiveson Figueiredo, Benavidez had three things on his to-do list: Get some revenge, inflict some pain and win his first UFC world title.
Unfortunately for “Joe-Jitsu,” it was a case of déjà vu, as he was once again stopped by “Daico” in the first round, this time via rear-naked choke. In their first encounter this past February, Figueiredo knocked out Joseph in the opening frame, though many attributed an inadvertent clash of heads as a determining factor. He also came in heavy. This time around Deiveson left little doubt by flooring Benavidez three times before putting him to sleep.
For Joseph, it’s a tough loss because it was his fourth attempt at winning the 125-pound title. And though he was rightfully upset about all of the drama that went down before, during, and after his first loss to Deiveson, Benavidez proved that he is far from a sore loser and took his lumps with class.
“The last time was … devastating because I couldn’t control it,” said Benavidez after the fight. “It was out of my control. Going into this fight, I just want a fair fight. I wanted the guy to freaking make weight and I don’t want anything weird to happen. And you know, he went out there and proved he was the better guy. So it’s hard. You can’t sit here and feel sorry for yourself.”
After reflecting on his career for a bit, Benavidez acknowledged that this could have very well been his last attempt to win UFC gold.
“I’m not going out like that. But … nothing’s guaranteed in this sport for sure. I’m not going to get another title shot, and I don’t want to go out on that, so … I just want to go out with another fight.”
Joseph made several great points, including the fact that he worked hard to get all four of his championship opportunities. And though he came up short each time, getting there is half the battle, something a majority of MMA fighters will never be able to do… not even once.
As far as what the future holds for him, perhaps a showdown against Alexandre Pantoja is in order. Pantoja also came up short at UFC Fight Island 2, losing to Askar Askarov via decision. The two men have never fought one another, and since they are only separated by two spots in the rankings (Benavidez is No. 2 and Pantoja No. 4), now is a good a time as any.
Any objections?