The Sports Informant

Joseph Benavidez may have lost a shot at the World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight title when he suffered the first loss of his professional fighting career on Aug. 9. The previously undefeated fighter isn’t fazed, however. Instead, he’s motivated. 

“It’s definitely going to help me,” said Benavidez, who now calls Sacramento his home. “I know the way I felt for that fight. I wasn’t 100 percent focused like I should be. I feel refocused, inspired and motivated. I feel like a brand new fighter.”

The loss, an August unanimous decision to now No. 1 bantamweight contender Dominick Cruz, is the only blemish on Benavidez’s record (10-1), and was a wake-up call to the work he’ll need to do to get the title shot he was inches from securing just a few short months ago.

Benavidez, right, during his fight with Dominick Cruz, left, is one of the most explosive and entertaining fighters in the WEC. (Photo courtesy WEC)

“After the fight, I was disappointed,” Benavidez said. “I thought it was a bad fight for me. I didn’t fight up to my potential. I see myself as being the best in the world if I fight to my potential. The more I watched the fight and it sank in, I took it well. It’s gonna happen in this sport. He had an amazing fight; he fought as good as he could. He was ready for a lot of the moves I was doing. I made a ton of mistakes and it still came down to the last 30 seconds of the fight.

“As bad as I did and as good as he did, I lost to one of the best guys in the world. I’ve got to keep things in perspective. Now that I’ve lost, I see the things I did wrong. It’s done a ton for me in the mental aspect of not letting it happen again.” 

The 5-foot-4-inch, 135-pound fighter, who trains in Sacramento with the ever popular Urijah Faber, is going to need that focus for Saturday’s fight, as he’ll get a shot at redemption against a foe just as talented in the 15-4 Rani Yahya in a fight card that will be televised live on the Versus channel. Yahya has a wealth of experience and success in the WEC, riding a 3-fight win streak.

“We are both two highly ranked guys in the top 10 in the world,” Benavidez said. “Whoever wins is that much closer to the title shot.”

Yahya will keep the elusive Benavidez on his toes all fight, coming in one of the most accomplished submission artists in the world. All of his last three wins were the result of a submission choke.

“There’s no secret he’s probably one of the best submission guys out there,” Benavidez said. “He’s a world champ in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He brings problems to the table. Fourteen of his 15 wins were by submission. He’s dangerous.”

Yet Benavidez doesn’t seem worried. The slick striker has an extensive background in wrestling, and his frame allows him to escape situations Yahya is nearly guaranteed to try to put him in.

“I don’t really get submitted,” Benavidez said. “I’m not afraid of his strengths. I see myself winning the fight.”

Still, the game plan isn’t to jump into Yahya’s advantage, at least not at first.

“I’m going to try to avoid it, but I’m also comfortable,” Benavidez said. “I’m going to try to avoid it at the beginning, but if he does get me down, I’m not gonna panic. I have a really big advantage on my feet with my quickness and striking. It’s a fight where I’ve prepared for everything. Of course he’ll be better on the ground, but I don’t want to give him that chance. I might just stay on top of him and punish him.”

A victory would be huge for Benavidez, who saw his amazing streak of wins come to a halt to Cruz and now must watch Cruz fight Brian Bowles for the bantamweight championship on March 6, 2010 in Ohio. A win this weekend will put Benavidez one step closer to everything he’s worked to accomplish.

“With a win, I’d be right there,” he said. “My last loss was to a good guy, not a nobody. He beat me in a close decision. I’m still right there. I’m right below a title shot.”