Heavy: You’re in an interesting position. You’re one of the top bantamweights in the world, but your only two losses have come to the champ. Do you feel like they might have you in a gatekeeper role for the time being, especially with Urijah on the fast track to a title shot?
Benavidez: Yeah. I mean, I don’t know exactly what role it is, but it’s definitely an odd position as far as the bantamweight mix goes. For one, I’m on the undercard like you said. And I am number two in the world. I’ll go in there and be the most fierce contender in the cage and I’ll finish everyone. And I think they know that, too, so it’s kind of hard for them. I’m fighting a guy like Ian Loveland who is tough, and they have a lot of confidence in him putting him in there with me. And he has a lot of confidence in himself.
But it kind of has to be an opponent like that right now, because they know that if they put me up against a contender like an Eddie Wineland or someone that they want to go for the belt, I will beat them and they will lose a contender, but then they can’t use me. I don’t know where they are putting me. I’m still one of the most exciting and best fighters out there. I don’t know what’s going to happen. All I can do is be grateful that this is my job and this is my life and just keep putting on exciting fights. Everything will happen like it’s supposed to.
Heavy: Few people have heard of Ian Loveland prior to this fight, but there are some experts who believe he’s a dangerous fight for you. What kind of problems does he present for you in the cage?
Benavidez: First of all, one thing is that he has nothing to lose. That’s always dangerous when a guy goes out there with nothing to lose. He’s probably supposed to lose. He can try anything, but I’ve been in there with the best fighters in the world. I don’t see him giving me anything that I haven’t seen already. He’s taking a step up, and he knows that.
I’m looking to go out there and show him why it’s a step up and what a really elite bantamweight feels like. He’s a little bigger and a little stronger and he has nothing to lose. He already has that reckless style as a fighter anyway. But I think he cannot go in there and be reckless with me. He has to respect me. It’s going to be hard to hit me anyway. I don’t really get hit that often in fights. He’s going to see just how dangerous I am.
Heavy: Before we started the interview, you mentioned to me that you’re flying to Newark tomorrow. What does your typical fight week look like?
Benavidez: I typically get there and settle in. It’s always great to get there and check in. This is the first time I’ve checked in for a UFC fight, so it’s going to be kind of cool. You get to WEC events and see some of the other fighters checking in, and they’re usually 135 to 145 pounds. But now I’ll get to see some of the bigger dudes while I’m checking in, so that’s cool. I’ll sign some posters and get my itinerary for the week. You do your interviews and your staredowns and do public workouts. I’m not really a part of that on this card, so it basically will consist of a lot of sleep.
We’ll go to the grocery store and get everything we need for the week. We’ll keep that stuff in our rooms to eat all the time. Other than that, just a lot of focus. It’s always hard. It’s actually the worst part of training camp, because it’s just waiting and losing weight, which are not my favorite things to do. So you’re waiting and losing weight. You have to find a way to take your mind off stuff. When I’m in a new town, I like to go explore and do stuff.
Really, it’s a lot of watching TV and trying to keep myself busy, maybe playing games on the iPad or reading magazines and listening to music. I’ll get one intense workout every day, and then the last day I’ll cut all my weight. After that, I eat as much as I can and then just wait to fight on Saturday.
Heavy: How much weight do you cut? You’ve mentioned to me in the past that you don’t have to cut very much.
Benavidez: I have been making a conscious effort to gain weight and be a bigger 135-pounder, since most of the guys are bigger than me. I’m at around 148 or 150 when I start camp. 150 is the max that I get to. When I start training consistently, I weigh around 147 or 148 every day. I like to show up to the location of the fight around nine pounds over. I usually show up at about 144 pounds, which is close to walking weight for me. It’s actually pretty simple from there. I lose about a pound a day until the weigh-ins, so I wake up the morning of the weigh-ins around 140, and on that last day I cut down to 136.
Heavy: A lot of guys who show up to weigh in look drawn out. They’re exhausted and some of them have trouble even moving if it was a huge cut. But you usually look the same at weigh-ins as you do when you’re not training or even on the day of the fight. That’s got to give you an advantage in the cage.
Benavidez: Definitely. I show up close to my walking weight, and I really start dieting and really thinking about my weight when I get there. Other than that, I’m living normally for the most part. I eat wisely and try to eat healthy. But it’s definitely an advantage. A lot of guys aren’t getting the best out of their training for the last few weeks or month because they’re depleted. So it’s definitely an advantage for me because I walk around normally and then I’m only dehydrated for a few hours while I cut the last four or five pounds. It’s pretty easy. I always feel fresh after weigh-ins, like I could fight that night if I had to. It’s an advantage and I hope it holds true for this fight with Loveland dropping down from 145.