Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson will defend his UFC Flyweight title against Joseph Benavidez for the second time in the main event of the UFC on Fox 9 card. Johnson ended up winning their first fight by split decision and Benavidez will be keen to avenge that loss on Saturday night when he fights in front of his home town fans.
Joseph Benavidez is part of Team Alpha Male who are based in Sacramento California, which is also the venue for this UFC on Fox 9 event. The first fight between Johnson and Benavidez was very close, so is home advantage enough to give Benavidez the edge this time around? Maybe, but there are also a few other factors we need to take into consideration when predicting the outcome of this fight…
Both these fighters have improved since their last encounter but Benavidez has definitely made the biggest improvements and will present Johnson with a lot more problems than he did in their first fight. The first and most obvious improvement that Benavidez has made is his striking. In the past Team Alpha Male fighters were well known for winning fights by taking down their opponents and grinding out decisions. Essentially they were a bunch of guys who were really good at wrestling and knew how to use their wrestling skills to win MMA fights.
All that changed when they brought in Duane Ludwig as their striking coach last year. Since Ludwig arrived every Team Alpha Male fighter’s striking ability has improved, including Benavidez who has won his last two fights by TKO.
When Johnson and Benavidez last fought back in September 2012, striking isn’t something that Johnson would have had to worry about as Benavidez wasn’t well known for being a good striker. As a result Johnson was able to pick him apart in the stand up for much of the fight. It’s going to be a lot more difficult to do that this time around as Benavidez presents a completely different challenge in the stand up department.
Demetrious Johnson is currently on a 4 fight winning streak and more than capable of beating Joseph Benavidez, I just can’t help feeling that all the stars are aligned for a Team Alpha Male fighter to win their first ever UFC belt.
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OUR PICK FOR THIS FIGHT…
The first time Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez fought, Johnson picked up the win by split decision. The fight was decided by very fine margins and I can’t help but feel that the fighter who has improved the most come Saturday night, will win this fight…
Since their last fight, Joseph Benavidez has developed knock out power and more technical striking. Demetrious Johnson is an extremely tough opponent, but he’s tough because his style is so unorthodox. It’s virtually impossible to train for a guy like Demetrious Johnson, because there’s nobody else in the world that can emulate his style. Benavidez has already benefited from spending 25 minutes in the Octagon with Johnson and come Saturday night he’ll know exactly what to expect.
I can’t help but feel that most of Johnson’s wins come because his style overwhelmes and confuses his opponents. This will be the first time he’s had to have a rematch with someone and it will be interesting to see how he copes against an opponent who knows what to expect.
Benavidez’s experience of dealing with Johnson will be invaluable in this fight and with home advantage on his side and Team Alpha Male still waiting to claim their first ever UFC title, all the stars seem to be aligned for a Joseph Benavidez win on Saturday night.
JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ TO WIN[divider]
BEST ODDS AVAILABLE FOR THIS UFC FIGHT…
The best odds for this fight can be found at [adrotate group=”7″].
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UFC BETTING TIPS FOR UFC ON FOX 9…
Demetrious Johnson v Joseph Benavidez
Michael McDonald v Urijah Faber
Joe Lauzon v Mac Danzig
Cody McKenzie v Sam Stout
