Joseph Benavidez Biography: Joseph Rolando Benavidez is a former professional mixed martial artist from the United States. He participated in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Flyweight class. To know everything about him, read this blog till the end.
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Joseph Benavidez Biography
Joseph Benavidez Biography: Benavidez was born in San Antonio, Texas, on July 31, 1984, and is of Mexican origin. As of 2024, he is 39 years old. His single mother and two brothers raised Benavidez. He began boxing training while attending Las Cruces High School. He also began wrestling at the age of 16, becoming a New Mexico State champion in the sport.
He wrestled at William Penn University for one semester before leaving out. Benavidez suffered from alcohol and drug abuse throughout college until becoming clean and dedicating his attention to mixed martial arts.
Joseph Benavidez Wiki
Name | Joseph Benavidez |
Date Of Birth | July 31, 1984 |
Age | 39 years old (as of 2024) |
Birth Place | San Antonio, Texas |
Height | 5ft 4inch |
Weight | 57Kg |
Zodiac Sign | Leo |
Profession | Mixed Martial Artist |
Net Worth | $3 million |
Car Collection | N/A |
Joseph Benavidez Wife
According to the source, he is a married man. He is married to UFC reporter Megan Olivi. It is not known whether they had kids right now or not.
Also Read: Yasuhiro Urushitani Biography, Wiki, Age, Height, Weight, Net Worth, Record, Career
What is Joseph Benavidez’s Net Worth?
According to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Joseph Benavidez’s net worth is more than $3 million, as of 2024.
Joseph Benavidez Career
World Extreme Cagefighting, an American company, then signed Benavidez. On December 3, 2008, he defeated Danny Martinez unanimously at WEC 37. Benavidez faced Jeff Curran at WEC 40 on April 5, 2009. Benavidez dominated Curran from the opening ring with superior grappling & strikes, sending Curran to the ground in the opening round.
Curran attempted an armbar in the second round and a triangle collar in the third round without success. Next, Benavidez faced Dominick Cruz at WEC 42 on August 9, 2009. A unanimous decision in the bout defeated him.
Benavidez competed against Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Rani Yahya at WEC 45 on December 19, 2009. Benavidez won via TKO in the first round. On March 6, 2010, at WEC 47, Benavidez defeated former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres. He dominated the former Bantamweight Champion before opening a massive cut on Torres’ forehead and submitting him with a guillotine grip while Torres was bloodied.
On August 18, 2010, at WEC 50, Benavidez fought Dominick Cruz in another bout for the WEC Bantamweight Championship. Benavidez lost to Cruz for a second time via split decision. On November 11, 2010, Benavidez faced Wagnney Fabiano in place of a disabled Brian Bowles.
Benavidez defeated Fabiano via submission in the second round. After an uneventful first round of striking, Benavidez wounded Fabiano with a left and attacked, submitting the third-degree black belt at 2:45 of the second round with a guillotine choke.
Joseph Benavidez UFC Career
World Extreme Cagefighting combined with the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 28, 2010. As a result of the merger, all WEC fighters joined the UFC. Benavidez faced Ian Loveland at UFC 128 on March 19, 2011, for his UFC debut. The combat was decided unanimously in his favor.
At the UFC 140 post-fight press conference, Dana White announced that Benavidez would compete in a four-person tournament to decide the new UFC Flyweight Champion. On March 3, 2012, at UFC on FX 2, Benavidez fought Yasuhiro Urushitani and won via 2nd round TKO, earning Knockout of the Night honors.
Benavidez fought Ian McCall at UFC 156 on February 2, 2013. The fight was decided unanimously in his favor. Benavidez fought Dustin Ortiz on UFC Fight Night 57 on November 22, 2014. A unanimous decision in favor of Benavidez decided the back-and-forth fight.
Benavidez fought John Moraga at UFC 187 on May 23, 2015. Benavidez was declared the winner by unanimous decision. Benavidez fought Zach Makovsky at UFC Fight Night 82 on February 6, 2016. The fight was decided unanimously in his favor.
Benevidez was expected to face Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night 110 on June 11, 2017. Benavidez, however, withdrew from the bout on May 10 due to a knee injury and was replaced by Tim Elliott. Benavidez fought Sergio Pettis at UFC 225 on June 9, 2018. A split decision in the back-and-forth match defeated him.
On June 29, 2019, Benavidez fought Jussier Formiga in a rematch on UFC on ESPN 3. In the second round, he won the fight via technical Knockout. This encounter earned him the award for Performance of the Night. After the fight, during the post-fight interview, he referred to himself as “Joey Twice.”
On February 29, 2020, Benavidez fought Deiveson Figueiredo for the vacant UFC Flyweight Championship at UFC Fight Night 169. At the February 28 weigh-ins, Figueiredo weighed 127.5 pounds, making him ineligible to claim the Flyweight championship.
In addition, Figueiredo was fined 30% of his purse, which was given to Benavidez. Benavidez was knocked out in the second round. Benavidez confirmed his retirement from MMA in September 2021.