WEC’s Joseph Benavidez a man with a plan

By Brett Okamoto

Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010 | 11 p.m.

Considering Joseph Benavidez opened his professional mixed-martial-arts career with 10 straight wins, stringing together victories isn't exactly a new feeling to him.

However, the Sacramento-based fighter says there has been something different about his current two-fight streak.

Benavidez (12-1) will look to win his third straight bout and avenge the only loss of his career when he meets Dominick Cruz (15-1) for the WEC bantamweight title Aug. 18 at The Pearl at The Palms.

The two fighters met for the first time last August, with Cruz taking the win by unanimous decision.

The loss snapped Benavidez's impressive winning streak but seems to have only inspired the 26-year-old to go on another run.

"I think there have been huge changes in my game," Benavidez said. "If you see my last two wins (before losing to Cruz) were by decision. After the loss, I finished (Rani) Yahya and (Miguel) Torres.

"After you lose, you have to change something. That's when you really learn."

The biggest change to Benavidez's game has been on the mental side.

Even though he knew before the first fight with Cruz that he'd be facing a notoriously unorthodox opponent, Benavidez believed in his ability to react inside the cage.

Following the loss, Benavidez says he's started to train specifically for his opponent's strengths and weaknesses — and can't believe what a difference it's made.

"Before the loss, people would be like, 'Hey, do you want me to spar you like Dominick?'" Benavidez said. "I would be like, 'No, I'll just react to it when I get in there.'

"Now I know that everyone is going to be athletic, and everyone is going to have good reactions. Sometimes, being prepared will set you apart."

Originally from Las Cruces, N.M., Benavidez credits fate as to how he winded up in Sacramento.

In what is now a well-known story in the MMA community, Benavidez met former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber on the last day of a personal trip he took to Sacramento.

The meeting very nearly never happened. Benavidez actually went to the airport to travel back to New Mexico but had his flight cancelled.

The two got along from the start and Faber ended up offering Benavidez a job behind the front desk of his Sacramento-based gym.

"It was straight 'Rocky' style," Benavidez said. "Urijah told me, 'Yeah man, come up and you'll get a job.' I go in and was like, 'Cool man, where do I clock in?' He handed me a pile of 800 flyers and said to just pass them out and keep track of my hours.

"That was the first thing I did."

The gig eventually turned into a full-time job. Benavidez would arrive at the gym early in the morning to mop the mats and vacuum the carpet and then do it all over again before closing the gym at night.

And in between the shifts, of course, Benavidez turned himself into a legitimate 135-pound mixed martial artist.

Today, Benavidez is a main figure at the Sacramento gym and is close to putting the finishing touches on his plan to become the WEC bantamweight champion.

"When you go in and beat a guy like Miguel Torres, you realize how good you are," Benavidez said. "It just goes to show what I'm capable of when I'm confident and execute my game plan."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting