Bump didn’t bother Benavidez, but fighter’s mother was angry

“My mom called and she was like, ‘What the hell! Jon Jones is a jerk,’ ” Benavidez said.

Mother was frustrated because Jones will now fight Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC 152 on Sept. 22 in Toronto, relegating Benavidez’s matchup against Demetrious Johnson to determine the first flyweight champion in UFC history to the second slot on the suddenly stacked card.

Benavidez has a different take.

“It didn’t bother me at all. It’s really a positive when you look at it,” he said. “I know Jon is more popular than me. I just feel it helps me. My main goal when I got in this was to be a UFC champion. I didn’t get into this and say, ‘My goal is to be in the main event.’

“I still get to be the champion, and now I get to do it with that many more people watching and that many more fans to gain. Main events are going to come. Even though it’s been a long journey, this is just the beginning.”

Benavidez, 28, has lost just twice in his career, both to UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. He dropped to flyweight when the division was created earlier this year with a four-man tournament to determine the first-ever champion at 125 pounds.

Benavidez defeated Yasuhiro Urushitani in the semifinals in March, but had to wait for Johnson to defeat Ian McCall in a rematch of the original March semifinal that ended in a draw.

Seeing Johnson fight McCall a second time was a helpful tool for Benavidez in preparing for the fight, though he probably would have been watching anyway.

“I’ve watched all his fights. Honestly, if I wasn’t a fighter, he would be one of my favorite guys as a fan,” Benavidez said. “But it’s a lot different watching and knowing I have to fight him.”

Now, Benavidez gets to step in the cage with Johnson with a chance to make history as the UFC’s first flyweight champion.

“That’s something special. It’s a little cherry on top,” he said. “The main goal is to be the UFC champion. The fact that I could also be the first ever and I could cement that legacy, it’s just that much more motivating.”

■ PAYING AMENDS (ALMOST) – A report by ESPN’s MMA Live said Jones was ready to cover the salaries of all the fighters who missed out on paychecks on the UFC 151 card that was canceled when he declined to fight late replacement Chael Sonnen.

Jones allegedly changed his mind after the backlash he received from many of the fighters on Twitter.

Charlie Brenneman, who got the most publicity for his comments about Jones, insists he wouldn’t have accepted Jones’ charity.

“Apparently (Jones) was gonna pay us until we opened our mouths. I woulda ripped the (check) up. My tweet was (about) principle (people), not a plea 4 $,” he posted on his Twitter account, @SpaniardMMA.

All of the fights that had been set for UFC 151 have been rescheduled. Brenneman will now fight Kyle Noke at UFC 152 on Sept. 22 in Toronto.

■ WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING – The Las Vegas-based World Series of Fighting has been granted a license to promote fights and is believed to have a television deal in place as the organization approaches its first scheduled event Nov. 3 at Planet Hollywood.

Among several announcements expected at a news conference Thursday is an affiliation with the NBC Sports Network, formerly Versus, which previously aired World Extreme Cagefighting and UFC events.

The WSOF has confirmed the signing of former UFC fighter and WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, who is expected to be in action on the inaugural card against a still-to-be-named opponent.

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Thales Leites and Roger Huerta have also been announced as signed by the WSOF.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.