Joseph Benavidez on coaching TUF 24 opposite Henry Cejudo: I realized not liking him was warranted

Joseph Benavidez knows his TUF 24 Finale showdown with Henry Cejudo should be considered a number one contender fight, but he also said it’s up to the fighters themselves to put on a show to convince fans they deserve another crack at the title.

Benavidez (24-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and Cejudo (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) meet in the TUF 24 co-main event at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The card airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

The two men coached against each other on the season of the reality show, leading to a little bit of extra bad blood. Benavidez told MMAjunkie at the event’s media day he already didn’t like Cejudo, coaching opposite him just let him know he wasn’t wrong.

“I just realized not liking him was warranted,” Benavidez said. “I went on and I was maybe like, ‘Alright, maybe this guy is not going to be bad or whatever. We’re going to compete, I’m going to see him for six weeks.’ I went on and was like, ‘Yeah, I definitely don’t like this guy for a reason.’ We’re total opposites, I feel.

“The thing about the show is we were worried about eight other guys succeeding, not necessarily our fight. We’re in a competition with coaches’ challenge, you want to pick the better guys, you want your fighters to win. That’s all great and I feel I buried him in every aspect of the show, my team did, anyway. But it was all a watered down version of a competition.”

Benavidez has fallen short to flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson (24-2-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) twice, while Cejudo came up short in his one bid at the title. Still, Benavidez holds the No. 2 spot in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings while Cejudo enters the fight ranked No. 3.

Benavidez said he feels he’s always the top man to challenge for the title, but knows fans may not want to see him challenge Johnson, who defends his title the same night, again. That means it’s up to him to show his skills against Cejudo and increase demand.

“I feel I’m always number one contender,” Benavidez said. “I’m always the next guy in line. Skill-wise I could fight D.J. any night and it’d be an amazing fight. I feel like I can beat him any given night as well. It’s not really a thing about skill, it’s about going out and making other people think it’s a number one contender fight.”

For more on The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.