In the rematch of UFC 152 flyweight title bout that was decided by the slimmest of margin, Demetrious Johnson didn’t leave anything to chance the second time through with Joseph Benavidez.
In Benavidez’s hometown of Sacramento, Johnson proved that dynamite comes in small packages by becoming the first fighter to ever knock him. The end came at 2:08 of the first round, after “Mighty Mouse” caught Benavidez with a right hand.
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As expected, the skirmishes were lightning fast out of the gate, with both fighters as shifty and calculated as they had been back at UFC in September 2012, when Johnson pulled out a split decision victory. But that didn’t last long. Midway through the first, as the two came together on the fence, Johnson timed out huge right hand in a flash moment that caught Benavidez flush and dropped him where he stood. Johnson landed another four shots to the prone Benavidez on the ground, but the No. 1 contender was long out.
It was the fastest knockout for a UFC flyweight in the young history of the division.
“First off, a lot of people saying I don’t have knockout power, but I’m just displaying that I’m always getting better working with AMC with Matt Hume, Brad Kerston, Joel Jamieson, and all the coaches,” Johnson told Joe Rogan in the cage afterwards. “And Sacramento, you guys have a great fighter in Joseph Benavidez, he’s an awesome guy, and I love you guys”
“Me and my coaches back at home were trying to work on settling my weight down and landing big power shots, so just showing a little bit of everything I’ve been doing at AMC,” he said. “Just more things to come.”
Johnson (19-2-1) has now defended the 125-pound belt three times, and hasn’t lost a contest since fighting Dominick Cruz back in 2011. As for Benavidez (19-4), he now enters a no man’s land in UFC contendership. The Team Alpha Male’s only losses are to bantamweight champ Cruz (twice) and now Johnson (twice), meaning he’ll have to wait for a changing of the guard in either division before he gets another title shot.