Only two successful title defenses into his championship reign, UFC flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson is already looking at a rematch with Joseph Benavidez, whom he defeated to become the first 125-pound king.
Since beating Benavidez in a close decision in September 2012, Johnson has held onto his strap by beating John Dodson and John Moraga. Currently sitting at No. 7 in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, Johnson will try to close in on the Top Five by beating Benavidez again at UFC on Fox 9 on Saturday.
If he’d campaigned hard enough, Benavidez might have convinced the UFC to give him this rematch much earlier. However, he wanted to be sure he’d made the improvements necessary to beat Johnson before a second meeting with the champion.
With wins over Ian McCall, Darren Uyenoyama and Jussier Formiga since his loss to Johnson, Benavidez has more than earned another shot at a UFC championship.
As Johnson and Benavidez get set to meet again, here is a closer look at how the elite flyweights match up in all areas.