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Plenty of UFC fighters will tell you these days they are due a title shot in their respective weight division, but not Joseph Benavidez.



Speaking at the UFC Fan Q&A session this past weekend, Benavidez was asked whether he felt hurt having been overlooked for a UFC flyweight title shot at Demetrius Johnson. The former two-time title contender gave a refreshing perspective on his situation and said that it was up to him to further build the fan’s desire to see him face Johnson for a third time.



“I didn’t feel I got robbed because there was obviously a reason they are doing that,” Benavidez said, referring to the fact that the UFC chose to stage an The Ultimate Fighter tournament with the winner facing Johnson. “Someone obviously thought I didn’t deserve it and not enough people wanted to see me fight for the title.



“It’s my own job to make the fans and the bosses want to see me fight for the title again. I don’t believe I deserve the title shot or anything because you don’t always get what you deserve. I would lie if I said that when it started, I wasn’t a little bitter at the fact that now I have to help these guys."



Any feeling of resentment Benavidez may have carried going into the show quickly faded once things got underway in Las Vegas.



“I recognized I’d been chosen to help these guys at a really important part of their career," Benavidez said. "It then became really important to me and I started to look at it as more power to them If they can go on to beat Demetrious or myself and go on to be the best fighter in the world.



“I’ll get my shot and I’ll just keep on improving every day.”





Benavidez believes that his next title shot could come after the conclusion of the series, however, he thinks that it hinges on the performance he puts in himself on the finale show in December.



“I’m fighting Henry Cejudo when the show is over because we are the two coaches,” Benavidez explained. “We are fighting December 3 on the finale when the winner of the show will be fighting DJ. I assume if I win and If I do it impressively, that I will face the winner of DJ and the winner of the show.”



Coaching on the show, Benavidez has been placed in the awkward predicament of essentially helping a group of fighters who he could later face down the line. The former title contender admitted it was awkward to begin with.



“I guess you could say it was a little awkward coaching guys I could potentially fight,” Benavidez said. “One guy is eventually going to fight for the title before me, but it’s like I said earlier, more power to them if they are better than me or can go out and beat Demetrious or myself.



“I would say it was more awkward for them, as they are fighting with each other and living with each other all day. The whole show is an awkward thing. You see people every day and you beat them. It’s just about getting over that and just letting it happen.”



“The only real awkward part for me was the coaching in general. I don’t take myself very seriously as like a role model or like a leader—that’s not how I operate. It was weird finding the balance of being a peer but also being a leader and telling guys what to do.”