Joseph Benavidez will be fighting Alex Perez in 24 hours in the TUF 28 Finale from the Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. But Joseph Benavidez has made it clear that in the midst of all the rumors of the imminent demise of the flyweight division, he is still planning for his future in the division, which revolves around another opportunity at the flyweight championship, which is why the flyweight title bout at UFC 233 between Henry Cejudo and T.J. Dillashaw has his full attention:
“There’s a title fight at flyweight – a fight that really makes sense for me to challenge both guys; whoever wins is a great option,” Benavidez said. “This is the first time in so long that I can look at the title fight and be like, ‘Wow, I have a win over the champion.’ Really, the whole time of my career, and not only that, then the guy challenging, obviously he’ll have other things on his plate if he wins with his other division and stuff, but that’s a fight that makes sense, too.”
Indeed, Joseph Benavidez believes that Henry Cejudo as champion provides a viable outlet for him to challenge for the championship for a third time, what with Benavidez holding a victory over the Olympic gold medalist, but he also believes a fight against T.J. Dillashaw would make just as much sense:
“Me and T.J. are ex training partners, and that’s always a good story. We have a ton of history, and him not giving me a choice, dropping down to my weight and going for the belt that I want, that’s another fight that makes sense. We don’t train together anymore. He’s obviously one of the best guys.
“Everybody has wins over each other there. Even Cejudo – I have a win over him – so everybody’s just jumbled up there. It makes, like, some really good matchups. Throw T.J. in the mix, and stars and stars to come. You never know what’s going to happen when the division is so new, so I think, let it breathe a little. It’s more exciting than ever when you look at it.”
What do you believe the odds are that we’ll see Joseph Benavidez challenge for the flyweight title again?
