Joseph Benavidez gets another title shot by beating up enough people - John Moraga is next

Joseph Benavidez might be one of the best fighters on the planet right now who is not currently holding a UFC title.

For years the goal of winning a championship consumed Benavidez to the point of obsession. He used to keep a picture of a UFC title on his mantle at home as a constant reminder of what he was going after.

On three different occasions in his career (two in the UFC, one in the WEC), Benavidez has fallen short of capturing a title and after his most recent losses to flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, he finds himself on the outside looking in on the contender's race.

Instead of getting mired in a competitive funk, Benavidez decided to only worry about the next guy in front of him rather than constantly focus on a championship that eluded him on several occasions.

With two straight wins and a chance for a third this weekend at UFC 187, Benavidez would still love nothing more than to be a champion one day. He's just not fixated by it any longer.

"I said it a long time ago after I lost my title fight, I can't really control getting another one that's not going to happen. The only thing I can do is control the fights in front of me," Benavidez told FOX Sports. "Of course the big goal is to get another title shot, but the only way I can get there is by beating the guy in front of me and improving everyday and going to make the most of my fights.

"I know what I have to do to get another title shot. I have to beat everybody that gets put in front of me and John Moraga's the next one. He might not be the last one. There might be a few more, but I can't worry about that. I can only control what's in front of me."

It's rare that a fighter will earn a third bout with someone who has defeated them twice previously but it's not unprecedented.

The only way Benavidez has ever known how to earn a title shot was by winning fights.

He has no problem being vocal and asking for something he wants, but Benavidez is also not clueless about the politics that are sometimes involved in making a title fight happen. The best way for him to stake his claim to another shot is to eliminate anybody else who might try to climb in front of him.

It's awfully hard to build new contenders if Benavidez keeps dismantling all of them.

Beating Moraga this weekend would give him his third straight victory over a top 10 opponent and he has no problem mowing down a few more if that's what it takes.

"If I beat up enough people and there's enough interest in a third fight with Demetrious, it will happen," Benavidez said. "But I've already taken the pressure off of that because I can't control it so what's the point?

"You control the little things that it takes to get you there. I'm doing everything I can to beat John Moraga because he's what's in front of me."