Joseph Benavidez feels he’s a frontrunner for next flyweight title shot

Two-time UFC flyweight title challenger Joseph Benavidez feels that, even though he’s currently riding a decision loss to Sergio Pettis, he has a strong claim to the next shot at new UFC flyweight champ Henry Cejudo. If Benavidez is able to win his next fight, a UFC Denver bout with former title challenger Ray Borg, his argument will be even stronger.

Benavidez explained why he feels he deserves a fight with Cejudo in a recent interview with MMAjunkie. His main argument is that he is the last man to beat Cejudo, having bested the current champ by split decision in December of 2016.

“To me, I don’t think anyone would argue if I fought [Cejudo] next,” Benavidez said. “I have a win over him, and that’s the biggest thing going for me right now. I’m his last loss.”

“The six wins in a row I had, and the loss was a really close fight, and that was to a guy who lost to Cejudo by a huge margin. The fact that I have a win over him, I think that puts me in a good seat.”

As Benavidez implies in the statement above, his loss to Sergio Pettis was preceded by six-straight victories over top-flight flyweights. While Benavidez was stuck in the mud at the height of Demetrious Johnson’s seemingly ironclad reign, having lost twice to the former champion, his future now looks much brighter with Cejudo as champion.

While Benavidez could be one of the frontrunners for the next flyweight title shot, it’s worth noting that Henry Cejudo has been angling for a fight with bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw, and Johnson also has strong claim to an immediate rematch.

If Joseph Benavidez defeats Ray Borg at UFC Denver on November 10, would you be interested in seeing him fight Henry Cejudo for the title?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/19/2018.