Joseph Benavidez vs. Dominick Cruz
In another huge 145 pound matchup, undefeated prospect Joseph Benavidez will look to take another step along the road to a title shot as he squares off with another top contender in Dominick Cruz.
Benavidez has looked like a monster thusfar in his career, and Cruz’s only loss thusfar is to former champion Urijah Faber, so this one should not only be extremely competitive, it should have immediate title implications.
Cruz, a technically skilled standup fighter with a developing ground game, has had quite a successful career thusfar. His 13-1 record is certainly impressive, although he has beaten largely mid-livel opponents and his one step up in competition was his sole loss. The most important question mark in this fight is going to be his takedown defense. If he can keep the fight standing, there is a good chance he can outclass Benavidez on his feet, but he will be similarly overmatched on the ground, so stuffing Benavidez’s shots is of vital importance.
Benavidez, for his part, is a skilled wrestler and submission artist with a fairly middle of the road standup game. In his last fight, he earned a one-sided unanimous decision win against skilled grappler Jeff Curran which raised his stock substantially. Cruz will be another stiff test on his road to the top, and whether or not he can get this fight to the ground will likely be the deciding factor.
Although Cruz is a tough opponent, I see Benavidez’s wrestling and ground control being too much for him to handle. Benavidez should be able to get this one to the ground and control the action, earning him a unanimous decision win.
