Former three-time UFC flyweight championship challenger Joseph Benavidez has decided to call it a a career after 15 successful years at the pro MMA stage.
The 37-year-old American is hanging up the gloves for good, as he suffered three consecutive defeats in his last three outings in UFC. Yesterday he told ESPN that he is retiring after 10 years with UFC.
He competed for the UFC flyweight title three times in his stellar career, but couldn’t win the belt. His last fight was in March 2021 when he lost to Askar Askarov via UD.
Benavidez said Tuesday he informed UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard of his retirement and that he would be removing himself from the UFC’s USADA-run drug-testing pool.
“I kind of knew I wasn’t gonna fight, but I was just kind of letting it linger,” Benavidez said. “You never know. But it’s just come to that point.”
“These guys are killers,” Benavidez said. “They’re all the guys I’m gonna fight next. All these killers coming in that would be my next fight are coming up to me and saying, ‘Dude, I have to take a picture with you. I used to come home from school and watch the WEC with my dad.’
