Top flyweights and former title challengers Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo are set to coach The Ultimate Fighter Season 24 and fight in the co-main event of the season Finale.
The news was announced on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight.
Benavidez and Cejudo will both coach teams of flyweight fighters. The season will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 and will air in the fall.
Benavidez and Cejudo willl fight at the end of the season, and the winner of that bout will be next in line to challenge current champion Demtrious Johnson.
Benavidez (24-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) has two losses inside the UFC, and both of them have came at the hands of Demetrious Johnson. Benavidez went 3-0 before first facing ‘DJ’ inside the octagon, but after five hard rounds and what may be the champions toughest test, Benavidez lost a split decision. He rebounded from the loss by stringing together three more wins with two stoppages. This earned Benavidez another title shot and another fight against ‘Mighty Mouse’. Johnson knocked out Benavidez in just over two minutes. Since the second loss, Benavidez has won five fights in a row, with one submission and four decisions.
Cejudo (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is coming off the first professional loss of his career, and it was against no other than Demetrious Johnson. Cejudo made his UFC debut at Bantamweight and picked up a decision victory over Dustin Kimura before returning to Flyweight and defeating Chris Cariaso via decision. In his third UFC outing, Cejudo took home another decision victory, this time over Chico Camus. “The Messenger” fought Jussier Formiga at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale and took home a split decision. The win streak earned Cejudo a title shot. The former Olympian had a lot of expectation behind him as one of the most decorated wrestlers in the sport today, but was stopped by the champion in just 2:49 at UFC 197.
