Issue 093

October 2012

Joseph Benavidez has been living the dream of etching his name in history – step by step, day by day – since a canceled flight on a vacation allowed him the time to meet Urijah Faber.

Gareth A Davies

MMA and Boxing Correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, London

The decorated former wrestler quit his job as a screen printer in New Mexico and packed all his belongings into a car and drove to relocate to Faber’s gym in California, taking up a job on the front desk there. Faber was impressed with him; easy to see why.

Benavidez is currently preparing to face Demetrious Johnson on September 22nd at UFC 152, where he’s the favorite to become the first man to be crowned UFC flyweight champion. Up until the 125lb division was created in the Ultimate Fighting Championship eight months ago, Benavidez was always fighting bigger men. But he’s a bull at his natural 125lb.  

At home, as part of what may transpire as a self-fulfilling prophecy, a four-by-six Polaroid photograph of the UFC belt sits on the mantelpiece. “I think about the belt and I know how crazy it’s going to be when we fight for that belt,” he tells FO. “Right now I just have a Polaroid of it – I printed it out on my computer.”

It’s just a tiny picture, but it means everything. “It’s there every day. I look at it, it’s a constant reminder, sometimes I’m just sitting there thinking, ‘Wow – that’s going to be the real one in a few months’ time, a real 3D golden belt that I’ve put all my life into, and means everything I’ve ever worked for.’”

It’s a fascinating fight in prospect with Johnson. The key will be getting his hands on ‘Mighty Mouse.’ “That’s definitely the key,” he acknowledges. “Everyone who has beaten him or has had a good time against him, has got their hands on him, stopped him, put him down, because if you are not on him or holding him, he’s way too fast.”

What’s also driving him is the chance to be a pathfinder, in changing the views of fans when it comes to excitement generated by the lighter weights. “Once they see us, they appreciate us. It just takes time. It’s all about eyes on us. From the last Expo to the July 2012 UFC Expo, I have felt such a huge difference in people knowing who we are.”

All he has to do now is go out there and ‘get his hands on’ livewire Demetrius Johnson.  

JDS EYES TOTAL DOMINATION

Dreaming, too, is Junior Dos Santos. JDS told me recently it often crosses his mind that he’d like to be the first man in history to be the UFC heavyweight champ – and a boxing world champion.

It’s unrealistic, of course, given the acute skills involved in boxing, as opposed to MMA. But JDS told me he watches the fights featuring the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali, and really does fancy it.

The Ukrainian brothers share the heavyweight division’s fractured world title belts, six in all – WBA, WBO, IBF, The Ring, IBO (Wladimir) and the WBC (Vitali). He said: “The thing is about the Klitschkos, they are very good, but their style of fighting is very safe, and people don’t like this style. I would love to fight them. I love boxing. My first sport was boxing.

“You know, I really believe in myself and I have imagined fighting both of them many times. I’ve also imagined myself being champion of both, making history. We have to dream, and I have big, big dreams and one of them is this. I believe with three months’ training just in boxing, I could beat anyone in the world.

Some assertion. It was fine having Randy Couture beat up a has-been boxer in James Toney inside the Octagon, but imagine the enormity of an event featuring one of the Klitschkos against JDS? Now I’m dreaming… 

DOWN SYNDROME, NO OBSTACLE

And, finally, perhaps the greatest dream of them all. I had the pleasure of meeting Garrett Holeve in July, at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas. Garrett has Down syndrome, and wants to compete in mixed martial arts, and is battling for the sport to be extended to people with disabilities.

He’s a brilliant man, aged 23, who is dedicating his life to the sport. ‘G-Money’ has already trained at American Top Team, dreams of being trained by his hero, Tito Ortiz, and even oversees youngsters who are involved in the sport. Inspiring stuff. 

He also already has the support of several fighters, including Stephan Bonnar. To show your support for the inclusion of special needs athletes in MMA, visit facebook.com/GarrettsFight.