Tag: Joseph Benavidez

MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Emperor’s Reign Ends

Filed under: UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Rankings, OverallFedor Emelianenko has been at the top of my list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts for a year and a half, since he beat Andrei Arlovski in January 2009. He’s obviously not …

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Fedor Emelianenko has been at the top of my list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts for a year and a half, since he beat Andrei Arlovski in January 2009. He’s obviously not at the top anymore, after Fabricio Werdum submitted him in just 69 seconds on Saturday night.

But is Fedor still in the Top 10? Not on my list.

Some people would say Fedor’s body of work merits inclusion in the Top 10, but this isn’t a list of the greatest fighters of all time, it’s a list of the greatest fighters right now. And the soon-to-be 34-year-old Emelianenko, even though he is the greatest fighter of all time, isn’t one of the 10 best right now. My list, the first one I’ve ever put together without Fedor on it, is below.

WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez Made Official for Aug. 18

Filed under: WEC, NewsThe WEC on Monday officially announced its August card, WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez, which will take place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Aug. 18.

WEC vice president Peter Dropick made the announcement on …

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The WEC on Monday officially announced its August card, WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez, which will take place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Aug. 18.

WEC vice president Peter Dropick made the announcement on a media call for Sunday’s WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus event, and the promotion put out a press release shortly after that.

The main event will feature a bantamweight title fight between champion Dominick Cruz (15-1, 5-1 WEC) and challenger Joseph Benavidez (13-1, 4-1 WEC), a rematch from a fight last August at WEC 42. Cruz won that fight, then won the 135-pound belt by beating Brian Bowles at WEC 47 in March. This will be his first title defense. On the same card in March, Benavidez became the first fighter to submit former champion Miguel Torres, earning the title shot in the process.

The co-main event is notable for former featherweight champion Urijah Faber‘s debut at bantamweight. Faber (27-4, 8-3 WEC) recently announced his decision to try his hand at 135 pounds. He’ll take on Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2, 2-2 WEC), a stiff test in his first fight after dropping down.

WEC’s August 18 Card Will Feature Urijah Faber’s Bantamweight Debut, Cruz/Benavidez Title Rematch

(Cruz and Benavidez’s first meeting last August: Dominick may have gotten the nod for Octagon control, but Joe definitely had the mad-dogging advantage. Photo courtesy of SI)
Next Sunday’s WEC 49 might be low on marquee fights, but th…

Dominick Cruz Joseph Benavidez WEC 42
(Cruz and Benavidez’s first meeting last August: Dominick may have gotten the nod for Octagon control, but Joe definitely had the mad-dogging advantage. Photo courtesy of SI)

Next Sunday’s WEC 49 might be low on marquee fights, but the organization will be making up for it in a big way at their August 18th show, which is slated to go down in Las Vegas. As reported yesterday, former featherweight champ Urijah Faber will make his bantamweight debut at the event, following a 2-3 stretch in his last five fights — including an agonizing loss to Jose Aldo in his last title challenge. Faber’s opponent is expected to be Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2, 2-2 WEC), who made his WEC debut in a memorable five-round war against Miguel Torres last year, and has since picked up decision victories against Jeff Curran and Rani Yahya. Faber has stated in the past that he cuts very little weight to make 145 pounds, and a drop to 135 wouldn’t be a problem for him.

Headlining the card will be an even more important bantamweight scrap: Dominick Cruz‘s first title defense against Faber’s teammate Joseph Benavidez, who Cruz previously outpointed at WEC 42. Cruz became champion in March thanks to a brilliant striking performance against then-champion Brian Bowles. Benavidez earned his title shot by choking out Miguel Torres at the same event, and hopes to avenge the only loss on his record. The 8/18 show — which we’ll refer to as WEC 50 until further notice — will be broadcast on Versus.

Semi-related: The day before he handles color-commentary duties for WEC 49, Kenny Florian will be working the booth for the TUF 11 Finale.