With Dominick Cruz winning the Bantamweight title, I beleive that the 135 pound division in the WEC has officially entered the transitional period that the light heavyweight division did when Forrest Griffin defeated Rampage Jackson. There are a few guys who are capable of holding the belt, and I’m not sure that any of them can hold it.

However, if there was a gun to my head, I would say that Joseph Benavidez would be the guy to do it.

Let’s take a look at the two fights from last Saturday that contained the four best fighters in the division.

When Dominick Cruz won his belt, he did so by TKO because of Injury. It wasn’t an injury that Cruz cause by doing an immense about of damage in the cage. Hell, it wasn’t even a freak injury like Patrick Cote suffered against Anderson Silva. It was a pre-existing injury that snuck up on Brian Bowles and bit him in the proverbial ass. He broke his hand knocking out Miguel Torres, and took seven months to heal up. Then, he throws and lands one punch on Cruz and breaks it again. So, are we really going to pretend that Cruz’s victory isn’t somewhat tainted? Yes, he was winning the first two rounds, but he was doing so with a jumpy, twitchy style that just screamed “Punch me in face!” Bowles continued to rush Cruz, and just seemed a second late at all times. If Bowles had connected, you might not be reading this right now.

Now, look at Joseph Benavidez’s fight against Miguel Torres. Look at the way that he snuffed out almost all offense from a guy who was at one time considered the best fighters on the planet. He continually moved forward, landed his offense and put Torres is tough positions. Most importantly, he finished the fight. He pushed Torres up against the cage, pounded him, and opened up a cut that I’m pretty sure that he used a samurai sword to create. Once the cut was open and Torres was off-kilter, Benavidez finished the job with a guillotine. Done. Fight over, all doubts alleviated.

Can you say that about Cruz?

Yes, Cruz does have a victory over Benavidez. However, as everyone always says, fighters change from fight to fight. I beleive that Benavidez is a better fighter than he was WEC 42, and with him training at Team Alpha Male with WEC godfather Urijah Faber, There is no doubt that he is. As for Cruz, he showed us jab-leg kick-escape over and over again. The best thing he did was gameplan for a fighter who wasn’t as athletic as he was.

This is a prediction and like all predictions has a chance of going terribly awry. However, if you told me that Cruz and Benavidez’s rematch was tomorrow, I’d take Benavidez every single time.

I’ll save everyone the normal speech about how the WEC fighters are treated like second class citizens because they weigh less than 155 pounds. I’ll skip right to the interesting notes.

• Joseph Benavidez wins the night by making 29,000 in his victory. I was surprised when I saw this, but more power the Joe for getting that money. In a preview of a future article, it’s only a matter of time before Joe is the man at 135.
• Miguel Torres made 26,000 in a loss. This makes me wonder he had a symmetrical win bonus. If he made 52,000 in a victory, that is UFC money right there. This is a good sign.
• Of course, this is the last card before the first WEC PPV, and you all should be ordering it. Remember, PPV revenue means more money for the fighters. Think of them.

Here is the full list:

Televised Card:
Dominick Cruz ($9,000+$9,000=$18,000) def. Brian Bowles ($12,000)
Joseph Benavidez ($14,500+$14,500=$29,000) def. Miguel Torres ($26,000)
Javier Vazquez ($6,000+$6,000=$12,000) def. Jens Pulver ($14,000)
LC Davis ($9,000+$9,000=$18,000) def. Deividas Taurosevicius ($9,000)
Bart Palaszewski ($6,000+$6,000=$12,000) def. Karen Darabedyan ($4,000)

Preliminary Card:
Scott Jorgensen ($8,000+$8,000=$16,000) def. Chad George ($3,000)
Chad Mendes ($4,000+$4,000=$8,000) def. Erik Koch ($3,000)
Anthony Pettis ($3,000+$3,000=$6,000) def. Danny Castillo ($9,500)
Leonard Garcia ($14,000) fought George Roop ($3,000) to a split draw
Fredson Paixao ($2,000+$2,000=$4,000) def. Courtney Buck ($3,000)
Ricardo Lamas ($5,000+$5,000=$10,000) def. Bendy Casimir ($3,000)

Stock Up

1. Joseph Benavidez – I did not see that one coming whatsoever. Miguel Torres was the class of the division for so long that no one could have ever guess that he would lose to someone like Benavidez. He had the reach advantage, the experience advantage, and had been improving his striking with Mark DellaGrotte. However, Benavidez charged ahead and stifled just about any offense that the mullet could muster and dominated Torres from bell to bell. We can only assume that a rematch with Dominick Cruz is on the docket.
2. Dominick Cruz – Speaking of the new banntamweight champ, Cruz impressive dispatched of Brian Bowles using a jumpy, movement based style that left me confused. You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t beleive that it will work against someone who is an equal athlete to him, but for the moment he is the champ. Expect the aforementioned rematch sooner than later.
3. Scott Jorgensen – How about that guillotine? He lifted Chad George up off the ground and than let him go and left him laying on the floor. With that performace, Jorgensen enters the top five at 145 and will likely need just one more win before getting his title shot.

Stock Down

1. Miguel Angel Torres – Things are looking grim for the former champ. There was a time where Miguel was at the bottom of the pound-for-pound top 10. Now, he is coming off two consecutive losses and has seemingly been passed by three separate fighters at 135. Will he ever gt back to being dominant? It’s not looking good.
2. Jens Pulver – It seems like I’ve wrote this column six times now. Pulver remains a legend of the sport, but simply can’t cut it anymore. He came out with a terrible gameplan. He knew that Javier Vasquez wanted to take him down, but instead of concentrating on his sprawl, he was throwing kicks. It didn’t make much sense. Now a loser of 9-of-13, you’d have to assume that he is done as a fighter and will concentrate on coaching.
3. The WEC – With the move to pay-per-view coming, the best thing that could have happened to the WEC was the fighters that already have name recognition winning. Guys like Torres and Brian Bowles winning was an important step towards creating stars that can headline money making cards that aren’t named Urijah Faber. However, they now have to start all over again with Cruz and Benavidez. Not good.

Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan

The Fighters: Palaszewski is just 26 years old, but has 44 fights under his belt. Recently, he has gone 2-2 in the WEC. He defeated Anthony Pettis by Split decision in his last fight. He is well rounded, as he has achieved his 31 wins in a variety of ways.

Darabedyan is another of the Armenian judo practitioners that came into the MMA world with Karo Parisyan. Although he is not related to Karo like Manny Gamburyan, he is their training partner. A black belt in Judo, Darabedyan also has a background in Kickboxing and Karate. He is 9-1 in his burgeoning career, and his most recently victory came over the always overrated Razor Rob McCullogh.

The Breakdown: While Palaszewski holds the massive experience edge, he simply doesn’t have a part of his game that really jumps out at you. We’ve seen from Karo that Judo can take you far in MMA, it just won’t ever get you into the elite level. Expect Darabedyan to continue proving his worth.

The Prediction: Darabedyan via unanimous decision

Deividas Taurosevicius vs. LC Davis

The Fighters: Taurosevicius is a pseudo-local for us. He fights out of Copiague, New York, which is like thirty minutes from our hometown. He is 15-3 in his career, with eight of the wins coming by submission. He’s 2-0 in the WEC and is coming off a win against the previously undefeated Mackens Sermerizer.

Davis is a survivor of the former Pat Militech camp with a virtual gaggle of big fight experience. He’s fought in the IFL, for Affliction, and now with the WEC. He’s 15-2 in those fights, and 2-0 in the WEC. He’s coming off consecutive wins against Javier Vasquez and Diego Nunes. And yes, I really wanted to get the world gaggle in there.

The Breakdown: This is a matchup of a wrestler and a BJJ specialist. Naturally, that will probably lead to a boring standup fight. If it does go to the ground, Davis will look to stymie the guard of Taurosevicius and do his damage without getting submitted.

The Prediction: Taurosevicius via submission

Jens Pulver v. Javier Vasquez

The Fighters: Pulver is a legend of the sport and the UFC’s first lightweight champion. He is also a survivor of the Pat Militech camp in Bettendorf, Iowa, but has had harsh words for his former trainer recently. Pulver has lost 8-of-12 and is really fighting on nothing but reputation at this point. Some of the losses are good ones, like the two losses he suffered at the hands of Urijah Faber. However, some of them aren’t so good like the time he was choked out by Josh Grispi. Pulver knows that this is his last chance, and has discussed retiring if he loses.

Vasquez seems to be the place WEC featherweights go when they need a win. He is 0-2 and also likely fighting for his WEC life. He is 17-4 in his career with most of those victories coming by submission.

The Breakdown: I’ve watched a lot of Pulver fights in preparation of this column and I’ve noticed some things. While he’s never had the best boxing technique, it’s almost gotten worse recently. Also, when is the last time that we saw Pulver wrestle? He won’t break that streak against the BJJ skills of Vasquez. The real question is: Does Pulver have anything at all left?

The Prediction: Pulver via TKO

Miguel Angel Torres v. Joseph Benavidez

The Fighters: Until recently, Torres ruled over the bantamweight division with an iron fist. He is well-rounded, and capapable of fighting for an eternity before he gets tired. Unfortantely, that didn’t mean much when he rushed in to finish Brian Bowles and gotten flattened. Now, Torres must climb back into the title picture with a win. He is 37-2, and is still improving his game. He brought in noted Muay Thai trainer Mark DellaGrotte to work with him for this fight.

Benavidez is a pupil of Urijah Faber who is 12-1. His only loss came in a number one contender’s fight against Dominick Cruz. Another energizer bunny of a fighter, his cardio is off the chain. He has won most of his fights by submission, but does have some TKOs to his credit. His last win was over noted BJJ stylist Rani Yahya.

The Breakdown: Torres has taken the “That loss was the best thing that ever happened to me” road and vows to come back stronger than ever. He can win the fight just about anywhere, but I expect his biggest advantage to come on the feet and for his to try and outstrike Benavidez.

The Prediction: Torres via unanimous Decision

Brian Bowles v. Dominick Cruz

The Fighters: Bowles dethroned Torres and shocked the world in his last fight. He also broke his hand on Torres jaw, forcing him out of action. He is 8-0 and looks like just about any middle America wrestler. While he may not look imposing, he is strong as hell for 135, and has imposed his will on his opponents with various skills taught to him by former UFC fighter Rory Singer. In fact, Bowles trains at the gym where Forrest Griffin got his start.

Cruz is 14-1 and 4-0 in the WEC. The majority of his wins have come via decision, but he is a stand up specialist with five T/KOs to his credit. He trains at Alliance MMA alongside UFC light heavyweight Brandon Vera. While he does have some wrestling, don’t expect him to go to it much in this one.

The Breakdown: Bowles is a powerhouse. He is so thick for 135 that I can’t really see anyone in the division taking him down. However, he also packs a powerhouse punch. Just ask Torres. Cruz’s only hope is to stick and move for five rounds.

The Prediction: Bowles via TKO

Remember when Brian Bowles shocked the MMA world by knocking out Miguel Angel Torres? Well, the man with the best combover in the sport is back to defend his title.

As we all wait to see exactly what Anderson Silva made for embarrassing Forrest Griffin, I can tell you that Brian Bowles only made $18,000 in his championship win. I will say this until I’m blue in the face: The WEC guys need to get paid more. Here’s the full list courtesy of MMA Weekly.

MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS

-Brian Bowles $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus) def. Miguel Torres $25,000 (win bonus would have been $26,000)
*Bowles also received a $10,000 bonus for Knockout of the Night

MAIN CARD FIGHTERS

-Dominick Cruz $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Joseph Benavidez $12,500 (win bonus would have been $12,500)
*Cruz and Benavidez also received a $10,000 bonus each for Fight of the Night

-Danny Castillo $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Ricardo Lamas $4,000 (win bonus would have been $4,000)

-Takeya Mizugaki $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Jeff Curran $8,000 (win bonus would have been $8,000)

-Leonard Garcia $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Jameel Massouh $3,000 (win bonus would have been $3,000)

PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS

-Cole Province $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Fredson Paixao $2,000 (win bonus would have been $2,000)

-Shane Roller $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Marcus Hicks $8,000 (win bonus would have been $8,000)

-Ed Ratcliff $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Phil Cardella $3,000 (win bonus would have been $3,000)

-Rani Yahya $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. John Hosman $3,000 (win bonus would have been $2,000)
*Yahya also received a $10,000 bonus for Submission of the Night

-Diego Nunes $8,000 (includes $4,000 win bonus) def. Rafael Dias $4,000 (win bonus would have been $4,000)

-L.C. Davis $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Javier Vazquez $6,000 (win bonus would have been $6,000)

WEC 42 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $234,500

WEC 42 POST-FIGHT AWARDS AND BONUSES
(A $10,000 bonus was awarded per fighter per award.)

Knockout of the Night:
-Brian Bowles

Fight of the Night:
-Dominick Cruz vs. Joseph Benavidez

Submission of the Night:
-Rani Yahya