Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweights Joseph Benavidez and Ali Bagautinov threw down last night (Oct. 3, 2015) at UFC 192 inside Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Benavidez has been on a tear since his loss to Demetrious Johnson. "Beefcake" entered this bout on a three fight win streak, and he was more than motivated to get back into the title picture.
Meanwhile, Bagautinov was looking to get back into the cage after his first UFC loss to "Mighty Mouse" and a suspension due to a failed drug test. Despite all that, Bagautinov had the potential to earn the biggest victory of his career.
After a brief feeling out process, Benavidez scored twice with a nice combination and big right hand. From the outside, Benavidez worked with quick combinations and punches, using good head movement to avoid the many of his opponent's punches.
While Bagautinov remained competitive throughout the round, he spent most of the first round reacting to his opponent's feints and punches. He also backed away quite a bit, which generally makes it difficult to win rounds.
All in all, it was a pretty clear round for "Beefcake," though it was still close.
Benavidez continued to control the center of the Octagon, attacking from both stances. He began to increase the volume of his kicks in the second, keeping Bagautinov on his back foot.
To his credit, Bagautinov made some adjustments and found a bit of success with his counter punches. In addition, he clipped Benavidez with a nice right hand while his opponent was trapped against the fence. He also attempted a few takedowns, but he never really secured top position.
Ultimately, Benavidez's forward pressure and general craftiness kept him ahead on the scorecards.
Bagautinov opened the third round with a nice combination, and Benavidez attempted to respond with some aggression of his own. After that quick start, the round went back to its usual movements, as Benavidez looked to bounce in with sudden combinations, while Bagautinov worked his counter punching and some occasional takedown attempts.
In the end, all three judges awarded Benavidez the decision victory.
This was one of Benavidez's more composed victories. Normally, Benavidez is down to bite down on his mouthpiece and trade haymakers, but he instead worked his range boxing and out-worked his opponent from range.
Whether that was out of respect for his opponent's power or his upcoming wedding is anyone's guess, but it did slow the pace down quite a bit and limit how often his opponent was able to land.
In addition, Benavidez's takedown defense held up excellently here. Bagautinov is an incredible wrestler and managed to get in on his opponent's hips, but he simply couldn't hold "Beefcake" down. Each time he scored a momentary takedown, Benavidez was back to his feet -- and usually striking with punches or a knee -- within a second.
After this win, there aren't a lot of men left for Benavidez at flyweight. Hopefully, the match up with John Dodson finally gets made, as that could be the victory needed for another shot at the strap.
Bagautinov proved a few things with this performance. First and foremost, the Dagestani fighter is really damn good, as no one else but "Mighty Mouse" has performed that well opposite Benavidez at flyweight. In addition, Bagautinov's drug test failure didn't affect him, as his conditioning held up just fine.
Basically, the EPO either wasn't helping all that much, or he's still using, because "Puncher King" looked exactly the same.
Finally, Bagautinov's flaws and ceiling were also demonstrated. He simply doesn't throw at a high enough volume to defeat the absolute best of the division, nor is his wrestling truly dominant. He's stuck at the edge of the top five, but he still didn't show much new despite having a year off to improve.
Last night, Joseph Benavidez extended his win streak with a decision victory over Ali Bagautinov. Can the Team Alpha Male fighter earn another shot at the belt?
For complete UFC 192 "Cormier vs Gustafsson" results and play-by-play, click HERE!