UFC Flyweight Joseph Benavidez: What Gives Him His Competitive Edge?

A stalwart contender in the WEC and UFC bantamweight divisions for the past several years, Joseph Benavidez now finds himself on the precipice of becoming the the UFC's first flyweight champion.

With a career record of 16-2, the opportunity to grasp UFC gold is the culmination of years of success for the 27-year-old Benavidez, who is quickly making a name for himself as one of the all-around best fighters in mixed martial arts. 

The Team Alpha Male fight camp member is currently riding a four-fight win streak, including a March victory over Yasuhiro Urushitani. The momentum garnered by this recent run of victories has earned Benavidez a date with Demetrious Johnson at UFC 152 for the UFC flyweight title.

What gives Benavidez his competitive edge inside the Octagon? Read on to find out. 

Experience Fighting at a Heavier Weight Class

As Benavidez preps for his showdown against Demetrious Johnson to decide the UFC's inaugural flyweight champion, he will have a lot more to draw on than physical ability.

Before making the drop to the UFC's newly-minted 125-pound weight class, Benavidez had established himself as one of the top dogs at bantamweight (135 pounds).

Despite being saddled with the burden of contesting significantly larger opponents, Benavidez twice challenged for the now defunct WEC bantamweight crown and amassed a 2-0 UFC record in the weight class.

Always a gamer, Benavidez sought out ways to foil the size advantage of his foes to amazing results. Now, as he continues his career as a flyweight, a size disadvantage is not something the Team Alpha Male product needs to fret over.

In fact, Benavidez's experience dealing with larger opponents gives him an edge over the competition at 125 pounds.

Used to having to push a little bit harder to score a takedown, absorb more impacting strikes and having had to sharpen himself to the point of overcoming adversity in nearly every fight of his career, Benavidez now stands on a level playing field, trained to fight on a skewed one.

Benavidez's next opponent is also a former bantamweight fighter, but he will still enter the contest with a decided size edge.

Wrestling Dominance

Benavidez, a high school state wrestling champion of new Mexico, has established himself as one of the toughest wrestlers in the UFC's flyweight fighter stable.

In a division populated by accomplished wrestlers, Benavidez stands out as one of the elite. He possesses unrelenting takedowns, a powerful and exhausting clinch and a nearly impenetrable sprawl.

Benavidez is able to use his wrestling abilities to control where his fights take place. Opponents who want to strike with him are liable to wind up on their backside. Opponents who want to put Benavidez on his back, well, it's an understatement to say that that is no easy task.

His ability to influence the direction of any fight gives Benavidez a significant edge over nearly any opponent he will encounter at 125 pounds.

Smooth, Well-Rounded Game

Though Benavidez has some of the flyweight division's most accomplished wrestling abilities, the title contender has no shortage of secondary skills to rely on. Indeed, the 27-year-old powerhouse exhibits a well-rounded game that is rarely seen at any level of mixed martial arts.

Beyond his wrestling dominance, Benavidez has proven himself a slick submission artist, having racked up eight stoppages in that form during his time as a pro. But perhaps more telling of Benavidez's grappling prowess than the number of submissions he has locked in is the competition he has made cry uncle.

Renowned submission aces Miguel Torres and Wagnney Fabiano, who have 30 submission wins between them, have both found out the hard way that Benavidez possesses a mean guillotine choke. That is not to say Benavidez is a one-trick pony on the mat. On the contrary, he has scored wins via rear-naked choke, triangle choke and kimura.

Between his wrestling acumen and submission abilities, Benavidez is a pretty scary name for anyone currently populating the UFC's flyweight division. But wait, it gets worse.

Opponents hoping to avoid the ground against Benavidez must be careful what they wish for—with four knockout wins to his name and power rarely seen at 125 pounds, Benavidez is as feared for his striking as for his other attributes.

Benavidez used a blitzing right hook to score a crushing knockout in his UFC flyweight debut earlier this year and will look to use that same tool to secure the flyweight title this September.

For opponents of Benavidez, it is truly a case of pick your poison. No matter where the fight takes him—no matter where HE takes the fight—Benavidez holds an edge over nearly any competition he may run into.

Combination of Speed and Power

Mixing it up for years against naturally larger men has allowed Benavidez to develop his strength and power to a level rarely seen in the lower weight classes of mixed martial arts.

Used to moving bigger bodies than is required of him these days, Benavidez stands as arguably the most powerful man in the UFC's 125-pound weight class.

The power of Benavidez finds its way into all facets his fights. Whether it means wrenching an opponent's neck to lock in a guillotine, blasting away with a stunning right hook, man-handling a foe in the clinch or slamming an enemy to the mat, Benavidez's strength only multiplies the danger wrought by his well-rounded skills.

What is perhaps most impressive about Benavidez's explosive power is that it comes at little expense to his speed. Indeed, Benavidez seems to fight in fast motion when he puts his opponents on the defensive, often holding an edge in both speed and power.

The Team Alpha Male Fight Camp

What better way to hone your skills than to be tested by the best on a daily basis? Doing so gives a mixed martial artist no small edge over his opponents, and Benavidez does just this.

A member of the fabled Team Alpha Male fight camp, Benavidez has the luxury of training with MMA legend Urijah Faber, featherweight title contender Chad Mendes and UFC veterans Justin Buchholz and T.J. Dillashaw.

The camp provides Benavidez with no shortage of experience or ability on which to grow his own career and affords him an edge over fighters who lack that same type of competitive environment and guidance.