Joseph Benavidez

 #3

Joseph Benavidez

Record: 14-2-0

Summary: Conditioning, speed and training partners

Fighter Info

From:	San Antonio, Texas USA
Fights Out Of:	Sacramento, CA USA
Age:	26
Height:	5' 4" ( 162 cm )
Weight:	135 lb ( 61 kg )

Benavidez has been competing for several years in mixed martial arts. The exact number of underground or unsanctioned fights he participated in is unknown, but he was undefeated in all of his professional fights until his first loss to Dominick Cruz via decision in 2009. The fight turned out to be a #1 contenders match for the WEC Bantamweight (135 lb) Title. His next fight was on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47 where he defeated his opponent [13] former WEC Bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, who dominated the division with 17 consecutive wins.[14] Both Benavidez's first loss and Torres loss of the Bantamweight title occurred on August 9, 2009 at WEC 42. Benavidez's last fight was at WEC 52 where he submitted world renowned submission specialist Wagnney Fabiano in the second round via guillotine choke. Benavidez has used Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold" (or a similar version of the song) as his entrance music throughout his career, which alludes to his preferred method of finishing a fight.Before joining up with Urijah Faber, Benavidez fought in smaller shows and trained while working as a screen printer in New Mexico. Hoping to eventually make a living fighting MMA, he sought out Faber on a trip to California in January 2007. Unable to find Faber's gym, he visited one in Roseville hoping to locate him. There his fighting ability impressed the members and instructors enough (or, in Faber's words: "[he] basically beat the crap out of everyone")[5] to refer him to Faber. This was only hours before Benavidez' flight home was due and he had to leave for the airport, unable to meet up with him.His flight was then canceled, giving him the chance to meet up with Faber as he had hoped. Benavidez impressed Faber enough to offer him a job at the front desk of his gym, enabling him to leave New Mexico to come train with him and his team. Benavidez then went back to New Mexico, "jammed everything into his car" and moved to California.[5] After fighting with smaller US-based promotions, Benavidez was offered a fight with Norifumi Yamamoto by Japanese MMA-promoter Dream in July 2008 at Dream 5.[5] The bout was canceled only days before the fight,[5] and Benavidez was instead matched against Junya Kudo whom he defeated by guillotine choke submission.

Benavidez was then signed by US-based World Extreme Cagefighting. On December 3, 2008, he fought Danny Martinez at WEC 37 and won by unanimous decision. He defeated Jeff Curran by unanimous decision at WEC 40 on April 5, 2009.[5] Benavidez dominated Curran from the opening bell with superior grappling and striking, knocking the opponent down in the first round. Curran unsuccessfully attempted an armbar in the second round and a triangle choke in the third round. Joseph fought Dominick Cruz at WEC 42 and lost by unanimous decision.

Benavidez fought Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya on December 19, 2009 at WEC 45.[15] Benavidez won via first round TKO.[16]

Benavidez defeated former WEC Bantaweight Champion Miguel Torres on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47. He dominated the former Bantamweight Champion opening a huge cut on Torres' forehead and ended up submitting the former champion by guillotine choke.

Benavidez fought Dominick Cruz for the WEC Bantaweight Championship on August 18, 2010 at WEC 50.[18] The bout was a rematch of their contest at WEC 42, in which Cruz handed Benavidez his first career loss, via decision.

Benavidez lost to Dominick Cruz for a second time in their rematch via split decision.

Benavidez faced Wagnney Fabiano on November 11, 2010, replacing an injured Brian Bowles.[19] Benavidez defeated Fabiano via second round submission. After a uneventful first round of striking between the two, Benavidez stung Fabiano with a left and pounced, submitting him with a guillotine after unsuccessfully trying for it twice earlier, submitting the 3rd degree black belt at 2:45 of the second round.

On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.[20]

In his UFC debut, Benavidez faced Ian Loveland on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128.[21] He won the fight via unanimous decision
ion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Benavidez