Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez II (Patreon)

So we finally have an undisputed men's flyweight champion. The first fight between Joseph Benavidez vs. Deiveson Figueiredo was marred by Figueiredo missing weight and also by an accidental headbutt. Figueiredo won by KO, but it was far from conclusive. 

So how did the second fight go so differently? When many had Joseph Benavidez winning the first fight until the clash of heads? If you watched the first fight, there are two things Trevor Wittman said during the broadcast that came to haunt Benavidez in the second fight.

First is, Benavidez drops his hands when he kicks. Second, he said Benavidez shouldn't charge in headfirst when Figueiredo throws such hard hooks and uppercuts.

In their first fight, Figueiredo switched stances throughout the contest, which left him vulnerable whenever Benavidez rushed in. He also backed up when Benavidez pressured, which had him taking punches against the fence. He also chased Benavidez, which got him countered as he was coming in.

In this fight, Figueiredo mostly stayed orthodox (left foot forward). He also stopped backing up in a straight line or chasing. Instead, he either stood his ground or inched forward.

He caught Benavidez right away in the fight while Benavidez was throwing a kick. With what punch? A right hook.

Then it went to the ground where Figueiredo got to Benavidez's back, but Benavidez was able to hand fight and eventually stand back up. Something Benavidez has done his whole career and why he's so hard to hold down is his willingness to give up his back to stand back up. There are trends in MMA, and Benavidez was part of that generation of fighters where this tactic of getting up while exposing your back worked. But once something becomes a trend in MMA, it starts to get exploited. And that's what we're beginning to see more of now, fighters getting pounded out from all fours or choked from all fours.

Soon after they stood back up and exchanged, Benavidez threw another naked kick and got caught with another right hook and dropped. This one, the announcers, missed as Benavidez got right back up.

Then, much like their first fight, as Benavidez had his back against the fence and circled to his left, Figueiredo dropped him again with a right uppercut. Benavidez circled right onto that punch.

And finally, as Benavidez was backing up, Figueiredo threw a right overhand, which Benavidez saw coming and tried to parry, which only left his face open, and he got dropped again. This time he was too dazed to defend the choke, and he was put to sleep before the end of the first round.

Benavidez fights from both stances, but in all the instances he was dropped, he was standing southpaw (right foot forward). When Figueiredo fought Benavidez the fights time, it was the first southpaw he had ever faced. This time he seemed to understand that his right hand was the southpaw killer. Since Benavidez often uses his speed to enter the inside lane (inside of his opponent's lead foot), Figueiredo had his right hand ready for him.

Figueiredo was much more patient this fight, and only countered Benavidez when he was southpaw. He seemed to have two triggers: when Benavidez was orthodox—defend; when Benavidez was southpaw—attack.

So why did Benavidez try to parry that final punch when he saw the punch coming? When he's used to fighting orthodox opponents? First of all, he had already been severely damaged, not to mention fighting for air while being choked. Secondly, who knows what his training has been like during COVID. And lastly, Figueiredo drop stepped, which made the punch look like it was going to come straight or perhaps even low, which Benavidez could then parry to counter. But instead, it came from above his eye line. So Benavidez correctly read Figueiredo's body movement to know a right punch was coming. However, he still didn't see the punch coming because there are a variety of ways to throw the right punch, which Figueredo was switching up all night like a pitcher.

I asked how this second fight went so differently when Benavidez did so well in the first fight. But much of that belief is based around the UFC promos and by the misreadings of many MMA analyst who have a lot of nostalgia and goodwill towards Joseph Benavidez. They wanted to see him win a title. So they wanted to believe he did well their first go. In actuality, Benavidez DIDN'T do so well in the first fight. Figueiredo nearly finished Benavidez with an armbar in the first round. And by the second, Figueiredo was beginning to figure Benavidez out. This fight was the continuation of that first fight with Figueiredo now understanding how to beat Benavidez.

But there might have been one last factor that had Benavadiz seemingly performing below his potential: this was his fifth title fight, having lost his previous four. At this point, that might be putting tremendous pressure on Benavidez, making him very beatable. He might be the best MMA fighter, never to hold a title.