Joseph Benavidez Says He Hasn’t Split From Alpha Male

Joseph Benavidez spoke following his win over Zach Makovsky at UFC Fight Night 82 about his status with Team Alpha Male and more. Check out the highlights:

On training away from Team Alpha Male: “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I’m straightforward: I feel better. That’s why I took the step in this camp in training. It’s kind of crazy: ‘The guy’s on a four-fight winning streak. What do you not feel good doing?’ But I just knew I was fighting and I was lucky. I was winning four fights, and I was better than the guys I was fighting, but I wasn’t better than the best Joe Benavidez.”

On reports that he split from the team: “I wasn’t as good as I could be (at Team Alpha Male), and I think you saw some improvements tonight working with Duane on the standup. And I’ve always felt great with Duane, and I’m obviously going to do as a fighter what I feel best doing, and that’s that moving forward. Those (Team Alpha Male) guys are always family, and they’ll always support me no matter what I do, whether I train over there for a little bit or whatever. But especially at this point in my career, evolving and getting out of my comfort zone, it was great.”