Fresh off his loss to an undefeated Russian at UFC 259, veteran Joseph Benavidez is doubtful if he has the same fire he started his mixed martial arts journey with.
Following a grueling war with Askar Askarov, it was already a question on the mind of fans if the UFC staple would stick around the promotion. Prior to the battle with the unbeaten Russian, Joseph Benavidez faced a murderer’s row. Despite losing his last three bouts, two of them were to flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, so it’s unclear if the bantamweight really has lost a step or if he is just losing to the best fighters in the world.
Joseph Benavidez Speaks On Grim Realization About Fighting
The No.5 ranked Benavidez has been with the UFC since 2011, which speaks volumes as to the level of competition he’s fought for a decade. A young Joseph Benavidez made a successful debut against Ian Loveland and has fought for flyweight and bantamweight UFC titles. Despite coming up short in those opportunities, the American notched some incredible wins, one that stands out is to the former double champion, Henry Cejudo at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. Recently, Benavidez took a moment to evaluate where his career stands.
“If talking about everything, I just couldn’t find the adrenaline, the excitement and explosiveness,” Benavidez said to MMAJunkie. “It’s a tough realization because I feel like why couldn’t I find that? You come to this point I think in every sport that you just feel like you’re not the same person in there anymore. I’m not who maybe I used to be in there and I’ve had those thoughts a long time, you know, fighting for 15 years.”
In essence, it seems as though the flyweight is struggling with motivation following a painful losing skid, in addition to having spent well over a decade in the sport. Given all the 36-year old has accomplished, his accolades will live on regardless of his next career decision.
The UFC veteran acknowledges that there’s still gas left in the tank, especially during scrambles, but mentions that even during practice that the fire he once held close is starting to lose its vibrancy.
“I’ve even had it in practice leading up to this sometimes, but practice is practice. Joseph Benavidez said. Day in and day out, sometimes you have a good day, sometimes you have a bad day. But yeah, in the fight that’s how I felt. Some of the things that came so naturally to me like the scramble, like I’m mister scramble. And I see in the second round I got held down, and that was never a worry for me because taking me down is like taking yourself down – it’s pretty hard to hold me down. It wasn’t a thing (I worried about).”
Certainly, the UFC fighter has endured a tough schedule, and after three losses, Joseph Benavidez’s back is against the wall. Not to mention, at the beginning of the year, UFC president Dana White mentioned trimming down the roster in 2021.
Despite coming off three losses to elite competition, who would you like to see Joseph Benavidez fight next? Let us know what you think should be next for the former title contender!
