UFC Fight Night 57 results: Joseph Benavidez wins hard fought decision over Dustin Ortiz

Dustin Ortiz took a monster step up in competition tonight (Sat., Nov. 22, 2014) at UFC Fight Night 57: "Edgar vs. Swanson" at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas when he went toe-to-toe with former multiple time flyweight title challenger Joseph Benavidez.

It wasn't a great start. Ortiz, while game, found himself jumping in with punches while Benavidez pelted him with kicks and circled away. He was busier too, having landed 30 strikes by the time Ortiz had landed 10. Many of those were big shots, like a hard right hand coming out of a break, a big left hand to kick start a combination, and a huge knee. He was also working the body with expert precision.

With the round winding down, Benavidez was the one who shot in and earned a takedown.

There was no reprieve from the first to the second round. In fact, Benavidez came even harder and heavier, blitzing with a flurry of punches and kicks clearly looking for a finish. This was fine, until Ortiz found some success of his own and even tagged "Joe-B" at one point.

Still, the former title challenger proved once again he's one of the best flyweights in the world.

Judges scorecards: 30-27 across the board, all in favor of Benavidez.

The problem, of course, is he's not better than Demetrious Johnson, the king of his weight class who has two head-to-head wins already.

Oh well.

For complete UFC Fight Night 57 results and coverage click here.