A biography for Joseph Benavidezhasn’t been written yet.
“The punches that don't knock you out are the ones you feel the most.”
“Anytime I can take a fight, I feel good doing it.”
“One person I lost to at 135 was the champion at the time, Dominick Cruz.”
“Personally I think there is nothing like that in-fight experience.”
“When the UFC announced that 125 tournament, I remember thinking, 'Finally, this is my spot.'”
“I'm actually a pretty quiet guy when it comes to fighting. I'm pretty serious. When I go out to fight people I'm not a big talker.”
“That was always the top martial artist - the Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt. Once I started beating them, I knew I had what it takes to form a new martial art. That's when I came up with Joe Jitsu, my namesake, so my legacy lives forever through the martial arts.”
“Cruces is like my town, where I grew up, where my heart is... All the teachers and coaches and people who have really influenced my life are from there.”
“Of course, in Joe Jitsu it is about a lot more than fighting. It depends on their style, their confidence, the way that their hair falls in the morning, the way that their clothes look. It's more state of mind.”
“Some people, honestly, as simple as it sounds, aren't going to log in and put in all their information to get a fight on Fight Pass. I mean, they're just not going to do it.”
“When you go in there and fight, you pretty much relinquish and give up the right to make any excuses about something.”
“I want to prove I'm a great, exciting fighter.”
“I don't believe someone like Cejudo would be scared of somebody.”
“I never compromised my integrity by playing a character. I didn't tweet anybody something crazy. I was just myself, kept winning and stayed ready. I didn't sell my soul.”
“I like to say I eat black belts for breakfast. They're just great match-ups for me.”
“All we have is our talent. That's what's great about the division, you can see things that 125-pound guys can do that some other guys can't. All we have is our skill.”
“I'm in a small percentage of people that get to do what they love to do for a living. I'm lucky.”
“I've died freaking 100 times. What's another death?”
“It makes you not believe in anything, when you do every single thing you can do right, and then there's still some way to mess it up.”
“I knew I had to just keep believing, never lose sight of my purpose. As a fighter, you need to be delusional in a way. It keeps you going.”