Since Joseph Benavidez’s stoppage loss to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Norfolk last weekend, there’s been plenty of discussion about how the second round, headbutt impacted the fight. Well, as talk of a rematch is making the rounds, Benavidez is claiming the incident dramatically altered the direction of the bout.

Benavidez says headbutt was the “beginning of the end”

Both flyweights came out aggressively in the headliner for UFC Norfolk, and after Benavidez worked his way out of an early armbar attempt, he outscored Figueiredo in the opening frame. In round two, however, things went off the rails for Benavidez after the fighters accidentally clashed heads. The headbutt opened up a large cut over the left eye of Benavidez, and moments later, Figueiredo floored him with a booming right. The fight was over seconds later.

Well, since the memorable bout, Benavidez spoke with TSN. Here’s what the perennial, flyweight contender had to say about how the headbutt impacted the contest (quote via MMA Junkie):

“If the head butt didn’t happen, I feel I was getting in a good groove,” Benavidez said. “I obviously won the first round, and I think it was only a matter of time before I continued to get to my groove, continued to find more shots, continued to find even more takedowns. I mean, the guy was very springy and strong at the beginning, but the head butt altered everything. I didn’t know where I was after the head butt.

“I mean, right as it happened, I didn’t even – it was one of those things that rattled you so bad, I wasn’t present. I clearly just walked straight backwards with my hands down, and I rubbed my eye as the guy that was trying to finish me was right in front of me. A focused, present fighter, that wouldn’t have happened. I didn’t really know what had happened or where I was. So yeah, that was 100 percent the beginning of the end. I didn’t know where I was, that led to him swarming me and punching me, which yeah, for him, the fight wasn’t stopped, he saw blood, and he saw me obviously rocked and did what he thought he’d do.”

Now, even if you were picking Figueiredo to win the fight going in, you have to admit that the headbutt clearly had an impact on the fight’s outcome. Yes, that’s part of fighting. But, you also have to wonder how the bout would have unfolded, if the headbutt hadn’t happened.

Thankfully, it looks like a rematch will happen

If you weren’t satisfied with how the bout ended, the good news is that it looks like the UFC’s working on a rematch. Recently Dana White reported that’s the plan, on account of the headbutt, and also because Figueiredo missed weight.