Joseph Benavidez is currently the #1 ranked flyweight in the UFC and he is coming off of a win over fellow TUF 24 coach Henry Cejudo at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, but there is a fight he wants now and it is a fighter he has fought twice before.
“That’s the only fight I want (with Demetrious Johnson),” Benavidez said to MMA Junkie. “I have six wins in a row. There’s no other fight that I want. … People say I lost twice, but me and Demetrious could fight a million times, and there’s going to be a million awesome competitions between two world-class fighters. Let us go after it again. Him and Tim’s fight was awesome tonight. That’s exactly how I feel. Of course that’s what I want. That’s the only fight I want.”
Benavidez has already competed twice before against Johnson, suffering defeats to him at UFC 152 and UFC On Fox 9. In fact, their first encounter at UFC 152 was the finals to crown the promotions first ever UFC Flyweight Champion. Benavidez, while his sets are currently set on Johnson, wouldn’t mind stepping into the octagon once more against Henry Cejudo.
“I’ll fight whoever (Cejudo) again,” Benavidez said. “It was a fun fight, and it was a challenging time. It was one of those fights that right when you’re done it’s like, ‘Man, there was this opening, and there was that opening.’ I was just getting going. If there were two more rounds, I would have seen some things that landed. He’s pretty much just starting his career almost. He’s going to be around for a while. So will I, so (a rematch is) always going to be there. That was definitely the best of him.”
Johnson also successfully defended the flyweight title at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, defeating Tim Elliot by unanimous decision.
