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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"In my heart, there's only one UFC fighter that's allowed to be a barn animal, and that's Tamdan McCrory, 'The Barn Cat.' He's one of my favorite fighters. So I'm fighting to preserve his legacy in the UFC as the only barn animal. I'm going to take Ian Loveland, 'The Barn Owl,' out of the equation...
I've been waiting to fight in the UFC since I was a kid. I always knew it was going to happen when I was in the WEC. I just didn't know when. The fact that it's finally here, I'm just pumped about it. I can't wait...
I've got a great opponent in Loveland. A lot of people don’t know about him, but he's a super tough dude. He's been on a really good streak lately finishing guys and beating some top guys. He's also coming down from [145]. He's a gamer. He wouldn't be fighting me if he wasn't...
I'm not scheduled to be on TV, but I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to finish this guy. That's one of the differences. We're both finishers. The only difference is he also gets finished. That's what I'm looking to do. I think that was a strategic move by the UFC. Not to put me on TV knowing they could cheat the system and get me on TV when I get the finish. That's how I'm looking at it."
-Joseph Benavidez talks to Sherdog.com and jokes about wanting to take Ian Loveland's nickname away and finding a way to get this fight at UFC 128 on television.
Penick's Analysis: There's really no reason this fight shouldn't be on television. Benavidez is a legitimate top two or three bantamweight, and it's a shame this fight isn't scheduled for television while Luiz Cane vs. Eliot Marshall is. At the same time, Benavidez finds himself in a rough spot having lost to Cruz twice and being a teammate of Urijah Faber's. With the top fights not being in the cards for him, the UFC may not be willing to heavily promote him. But, like he says here, if he can finish this in quick and impressive fashion, his fight will be seen, and that's what he's got to do on Saturday night.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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