Head coach: Joseph Benavidez no longer with Team Alpha Male

Team Alpha Male head coach Justin Buchholz says UFC flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez is no longer with the Sacramento team. UFC flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez is the latest fighter to leave Sacramento’s Team Alpha Male.
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Team Alpha Male head coach Justin Buchholz says UFC flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez is no longer with the Sacramento team.

UFC flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez is the latest fighter to leave Sacramento’s Team Alpha Male.

Team Alpha Male head coach Justin Buchholz confirmed Benavidez is no longer with the team and hasn’t trained at the Ultimate Fitness facilities since December, when Buchholz took over as head coach, on his podcast, Stud Show Radio, Wednesday night.

“He did leave the team,” Buchholz said. “I mean, you train here in Sacramento, you’re part of Team Alpha Male, or you don’t live here.

“He hasn’t trained at all since I took over as head coach. I mean, I don’t know. I thought Joe would at least give a chance of me, and Danny, and Holdsworth running this new program along with Master Thong and Joey. But he never did. He came in town for one week, he moved his house, did, like, one boxing class.

“I’m not upset at him for leaving because he didn’t leave under me as head coach. He left when the team was hurting — we didn’t have a coach, we didn’t have much direction. So it is what it was.”

Benavidez isn’t currently officially with another team as of now, although Buchholz believes he will join Colorado’s Elevation Fight Team in the near future.

“I think he’s going to do some camps out there,” Buchholz said.

Benavidez is the second notable fighter to leave the fight camp in the past year. Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw left last year to train in Colorado at Elevation Fight Team and with former Team Alpha Male head coach Duane Ludwig.

Benavidez (24-4) is currently riding a five-fight winning streak with recent wins over Zach Makovsky, Ali Bagautinov and John Moraga. Benavidez’s last loss was to champ Demetrious Johnson at the end of 2013.