Cruz defends bantam belt

Story by Andreas Hale
Photo by Chris Cozzone

On August 18, Dominick Cruz will defend his newly acquired WEC bantamweight championship against Joseph Benevidez in Las Vegas at WEC 50. It will be Cruz’ first defense against the man who pushed him to the limit for 3 tireless rounds and earned “Fight of the Night” honors en route to a unanimous decision victory. It’s certainly no walk in the part for Cruz’ first title defense but the newly crowned champion – who won the strap by defeating Brian Bowles at WEC 47 – is up for the challenge.

“I’m excited for this fight,” says Cruz, who gave Benevidez his first loss in his MMA career. “I fight because I love to fight and I fight because I want to beat the best guys on the planet. I feel that Benevidez is one of the top contenders without a doubt. To fight the best is all that I ask.”

Ask and you shall receive. Benevidez is the next in line for a title shot after dismantling future hall of famer Miguel Torres on the same WEC card that Cruz defeated Bowles on. Not only did Benevidez win, he did it with astounding ease. It was a shock to the MMA world, but not to Cruz.

“I knew Benevidez had a better chance than anybody else and I know that a lot of people didn’t have me beating Brian Bowles,” the Alliance MMA fighter reveals. “That being said, everybody can look past whoever they want. Only us as fighters know exactly what we’re doing when we prepare to fight.”

The 15-1 Cruz was certainly not handed a “gimme” fight for his first title defense. With he being the only blemish on Benevidez’ record, the fight takes on duel storylines – one of revenge and one of Cruz holding on to the title that he just secured. If left up to Cruz, he’d have it no other way.

“That’s really for me to decide to be honest,” the San Diego native says when asked if this is the fight he wanted. “Who am I to say who is good enough to fight me? That’s not my place. That’s up to the WEC and they have done a great job picking fights for the fans. I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me.”

The first fight between the two say Cruz win the fight by scoring numerous takedowns. It is something that Benevidez admits he wasn’t ready for. Cruz knows that his opponent on August 18 will be more than ready for the rematch.

“What I see this time around is Benavidez not underestimating me,” Cruz says. “When we first fought he assumed I couldn’t wrestle at his caliber and I wasn’t as athletic as him. It was kind of foolish and I think that’s why I won the fight. I’m sure he will be more than ready for me this time.”

Although the first fight earned “Fight of the Night” honors, Cruz is seeking another bonus in the rematch.

“Every fight I go into, I go to finish,” the 24-year-old reveals. “I’m trying to get ‘Submission of the Night’ or ‘Knockout of the Night.’ If that doesn’t happen and it goes the distance, I can guarantee you that we’ll get ‘Fight of the Night.’ Just because we both have a style that never stops moving.

Assuming that Cruz gets past Benevidez and denies his revenge, the champ is asked whether or not he wants to avenge his lone loss on his MMA record. Cruz lost in a WEC featherweight title bout against then champion Urijah Faber. With Faber’s recent move to the bantamweight division and “The California Kid” being a teammate of Benevidez on Team Alpha Male, could Cruz be looking to avenge is defeat?

“I’ll be 100% honest. I eat sleep and drink Benevidez right now. I don’t look past that goal,” Cruz exhales. “I haven’t put an ounce of thought into Urijah Faber. You want to ask me after this fight, I may have something to say then.”

But for now, we’ll let Cruz skills in the cage do the talking.