Joseph Benavidez is one of the calmest, coolest, most serene individuals in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) where, for better or for worse, chaotic and savage personalities get the majority of headlines and spotlights.
However, inside the cage, he lets out his violent streak to achieve the ultimate goal, and also knows how to take his lumps like a man. That was the case in his first fight against Deiveson Figueiredo earlier this year, where he was “knocked out” by Daico in the second round.
Initially, Benavidez took the loss like that, another tough loss where he unfortunately failed to win the UFC title. But things changed days later when he stumbled upon some idea that Figueiredo was bragging to the Brazilian media for having hit him on the head, which played a major role in his knockout victory that occurred moments later (see again here. ).
And now that he has a chance to take revenge, it’s a personal thing for Benavidez, who recently told ESPN that this time his goal is to hurt Figueiredo for his unwarranted boasting after the fight.
“You always want to beat a person who beat you, just to show that you are better. I could lose to the kindest guy from Demetrious Johnson, and I still want to kill him next time, because I feel like I’m better than him, ”he said.
“And he is nice. Figueiredo is a damn villain. The way he did things: He bragged in Portuguese that the fight ended with a header, and his translator did not translate it. The Brazilian media contacted me and said: “Do you know that I was talking about how I was proud to have beaten you?”
After initially thinking it was going to be his last chance to win a UFC title, Benavidez received the news that a rematch would likely give him all the drama that was attached to the first fight, which not only included the head butt, but Figueiredo lost weight
Five months after their first meeting, Benavidez feels better than ever and is motivated to have one more chance to fulfill his championship dreams. Along the way, he wants Figueiredo to feel exactly as he did (and more) last February.
“I think the easiest way to say it is that fighting is fighting, sometimes it goes with people who are suffering. That’s part of the game. You don’t want to, you just know, ‘I have to hurt this guy, he’s trying to hurt me.’ What I felt after the last fight and the way it happened, not necessarily in the fairest way, it just makes me want to hurt him, “he added.
And while hurting people just by watching them suffer is never Joseph’s primary goal, this time it’s different.
“Fighting is hurting people, but it makes me want to hurt him. I want you to get hurt. I want you to feel dizzy when you get up every day and don’t know if your concussions will go away. I want you to cry and be ashamed and all that kind of thing. So yes, that’s a different feeling towards this fight. Usually, I don’t have that towards an opponent. I’m like, “Hey, if I win, I win. If I hurt him, obviously that’s what we’re trained for.” But for this one, that’s the difference. “
Of course, all eyes will be on Figueiredo tomorrow when he tips the scales. If you fail to hit your mark again, you can bet it will only add more fuel to the Benavidez fire.
