Joseph Rolando Benavidez (born July 30, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist.

From college onwards Benavidez struggled with alcohol and drug abuse before becoming sober, subsequently turning his interest into mixed martial arts.

[7] After fighting in smaller shows while working as a screen printer in Las Cruces, New Mexico, he joined up with Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male in 2007.

His fighting style has drawn comparisons to training partner and former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber.

[8] Before joining up with Urijah Faber, Benavidez fought in smaller shows and trained while working as a screen printer in New Mexico.

Hoping to eventually make a living fighting MMA, he sought out Faber on a trip to California in January 2007.

Benavidez impressed Faber enough to offer him a job at the front desk of his gym, enabling him to leave New Mexico to come train with him and his team.

[9] The bout was canceled only days before the fight,[9] and Benavidez was instead matched against Junya Kodo whom he defeated by guillotine choke submission.

[11] Benavidez dominated Curran from the opening bell with superior grappling and striking, knocking the opponent down in the first round.

[14] Benavidez fought Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya on December 19, 2009, at WEC 45.

[20] Benavidez faced Wagnney Fabiano on November 11, 2010, replacing an injured Brian Bowles.

Benavidez faced Yasuhiro Urushitani on March 3, 2012, at UFC on FX 2[28] and won via TKO in the second round, earning Knockout of the Night honors for his performance.

[36] He won the fight by TKO in round 1 after dropping Formiga with a knee to the body and following up with punches.

[38] However the bout was shifted to December 14, 2013, at UFC on Fox 9 after that event's headliner was postponed due to injury.

[47] Benavidez was briefly linked to a bout against former Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo on September 5, 2015, at UFC 191.

[59] Benavidez was expected to face Ray Borg on November 10, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 139.

[60] However on November 7, 2018, it was reported that the bout was cancelled due to undisclosed medical issue for Borg.

[64] Benavidez was briefly scheduled to face Deiveson Figueiredo on January 19, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 143.

[66][67] Subsequently, Benavidez indicated that he would like to compete on the card, so while being an alternate for the headliner, a rematch with Dustin Ortiz took place at the event.

[75] At the weigh-ins on February 28, Figueiredo missed weight, weighing in at 127.5 pounds and became ineligible to win the Flyweight championship.

[79] Figueiredo passed multiple COVID-19 tests, clearing the fight to proceed as the main event.

The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Askarov was fined a percentage of his individual purse, which went to Benavidez.