An unfortunate series of events led to [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] falling short once again in his pursuit of UFC gold.
Benavidez (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) took on [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN+ 27 main event, where only he was eligible to win the vacant flyweight title after Figueiredo (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) missed weight.
After a strong first round, Benavidez was starting to find his rhythm as he continued to pressure Figueiredo. He won the first round on all three judges’ scorecards. But Round 2 turned into a nightmare when an accidental head butt spelled the beginning of the end. Benavidez charged forward, clashing heads with Figueiredo, which caused a gash on his forehead.
Then everything got hazy, and seconds later he was met with a big right hand that sent him to the canvas. A few shots later, the referee stepped in to stop the fight. Figueiredo was the winner but not the champion.
“If the head butt didn’t happen, I feel I was getting in a good groove,” Benavidez told TSN. “I obviously won the first round, and I think it was only a matter of time before I continued to get to my groove, continued to find more shots, continued to find even more takedowns. I mean, the guy was very springy and strong at the beginning, but the head butt altered everything. I didn’t know where I was after the head butt.
“I mean, right as it happened, I didn’t even – it was one of those things that rattled you so bad, I wasn’t present. I clearly just walked straight backwards with my hands down, and I rubbed my eye as the guy that was trying to finish me was right in front of me. A focused, present fighter, that wouldn’t have happened. I didn’t really know what had happened or where I was. So yeah, that was 100 percent the beginning of the end. I didn’t know where I was, that led to him swarming me and punching me, which yeah, for him, the fight wasn’t stopped, he saw blood, and he saw me obviously rocked and did what he thought he’d do.”
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The flyweight title picture is a mess after Saturday, withFigueiredo’s weight miss leaving the division yet again without a champion.
UFC president Dana White has said he’d like to see a rematch, which would give the three-time title challenger Benavidez new life.
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