A biography for Joseph Benavidezhasn’t been written yet.
“Once you stop having fun doing it, you start to lose a lot of focus and a lot of motivation. Where, when you love what you do you and feel lucky every day and excited, it helps every little aspect of fighting.”
“You have to go out there and fight as hard as you can. You have to go out there and work as hard as you can and do the right things. Then you go out there and perform and either it's good enough or it's not.”
“Life is crazy. It goes in directions that you could never guess.”
“If I went out there and felt the best I ever felt and fought the best I've ever fought and lost, I would have to reconsider things and think differently. I would have a different outlook on my career.”
“I never thought I was going to lose the first title fight. I was literally obsessed with the outcome only, and I couldn't imagine any other way possible. I thought I was going to explode and die before I lost. But I lost.”
“I have watched 'Wolf of Wall Street' like eight times.”
“Fans are going to give you crap no matter what sexual orientation you are.”
“The people need to know about guys like John Moraga.”
“For me, I've been a part of a super-team in Team Alpha Male for so much of my career.”
“Dominick Cruz is a great opponent, he has an amazing style.”
“When I got into the sport and wrote down my goals, it was never to be a UFC main event or to be a on a UFC main card. It was to be the UFC champion.”
“I bought a house after the Loveland fight. I wanted something grown up like an elephant or some flowers to put on the mantel. I decided I need a UFC belt.”
“I want to fight as much as I can.”
“I've gone through a lot to get here. I'm doing my job. And that No. 1 ranking next to my name says I'm doing my job better than a good percentage of everyone else.”
“I was rocking everyone at 135 and putting them down.”
“Fighting was the only way I felt self-worth, with people thinking I was the best.”
“My dream has always been to be a UFC champion. It wasn't to be a main event fighter.”
“That's how you continue your passion and find inspiration; getting new ideas, getting new looks and new visions. Those are ways to evolve and stay passionate.”
“You never want to get injured, of course. That's just not what you do, but in the scheme of things 12 years of professional fighting and having to sit out nine, ten months for an injury is not that bad.”
“Not having to compensate for always being at a size disadvantage allows me to unleash all of my skills.”