Winning the UFC flyweight title will have the same value for Joseph Benavidez whether it’s against Henry Cejudo or not.
After Cejudo vacated his 125-pound title, Benavidez (28-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will now take on Deiveson Figueiredo (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) for the vacant flyweight title at UFC on ESPN+ 27, which streams live on Feb. 29 at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va.
The matchup with Figueiredo may not generate the same pre-fight buzz as a fight with former double-champ Cejudo (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC), but the goal remains the same for Benavidez, he said.
That’s because he already holds a win over current UFC bantamweight champ Cejudo, when the two met at the The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale back in 2016, where Benavidez edged him out via split decision.
“It’s almost like an undisputed or whatever because I already beat Cejudo,” Benavidez said on the latest “UFC Unfiltered” podcast. “Figueiredo is challenging me, whatever you want to look at it. Basically, a title is a title. The goal wasn’t to beat a certain person, it was to win a title, and that’s happening. This one, I think in any other, like, way this could have happened, you could ask these questions, that it could be but, having already beat Cejudo, who vacated it, at the end of the day, he’s the one not putting up a fight, not trying to avenge the loss.”
Cejudo never seemed too keen on avenging his loss to Benavidez and has instead been focused on defending his 135-pound strap, calling out the likes of former champions Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz.
So with Cejudo now relinquishing the flyweight belt, Benavidez doesn’t see it as a lost opportunity.
“Like I said, the title’s the title,” Benavidez said. “I already beat the guy that has it now. The way I look at it is he gave it up without even a fight.”
Joseph Benavidez not bothered that it's not Henry Cejudo for the title: I already beat him
