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Round One: Cruz 2 - Benavidez 0
Although the battle was more exciting than the original fight, the result was the same as Dominick Cruz retained his WEC Bantamweight Title over Joseph Benavidez. Joseph Benavidez proved to be more game than in his last fight with Dominick Cruz, but was still unable to overcome the unorthodox fighting style of the champion. What was truly shocking was that Dominick Cruz won the fight by split decision, which means one judge believed that Joseph Benavidez won the fight. Dominick Cruz really wants a rematch with Urijah Faber, who is a Team Alpha teammate of Joseph Benavidez.
Next Round For Dominick Cruz: Scott Jorgensen or a revenge fight against Urijah Faber.
Next Round For Joseph Benavidez: Brad Pickett, Brian Bowles or Miguel Torres.
Round Two: Scott Jorgensen…Top Contender!
Scott Jorgensen has been on a roll in the WEC, defeating Antonio Banuelos at the first WEC pay-per-view and not notching a victory over Brad Pickett. The battle with Brad Pickett earned both fighters a hefty financial bonus, as it was deemed “Fight Of The Night†by WEC officials. Scott Jorgensen survived some dangerous stand up and ground attacks from Brad Pickett to earn a unanimous decision victory. Scott Jorgensen should be the next fighter to earn a WEC Bantamweight Title opportunity, unless Dominick Cruz gets his way and gets his long wanted rematch with Urijah Faber first.
Next Round For Scott Jorgensen: Dominick Cruz
Next Round For Brad Pickett: Brian Bowles or Joseph Benavidez
Round Three: From Number Three To Number One
Anthony Pettis put on one of the best performances of his career on Wednesday Night when he pulled off the shocking submission victory over Shane Roller. Anthony Pettis has now possibly jumped into the top contender spot thanks to the way the WEC 49 main event concluded. For those not in the know, Jamie Varner fought Kamal Shalorus to a majority draw at WEC 49, in a fight that was supposed to determine a top contender to the WEC Lightweight Title. With the WEC head to the hometown of WEC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson in a few months, Anthony Pettis may be challenging him for the gold.
Next Round For Anthony Pettis: Ben Henderson
Next Round For Shane Roller: Bart Palaszewski or Kamal Shalorus
Round Four: Aldo Or The Pitbull For Chad Mendes
Chad Mendes earned himself a potential title opportunity at current WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo or potential future champion Manny Gamburyan. Chad Mendes handily defeated WEC Featherweight Division gatekeeper Cub Swanson at WEC 50. Chad Mendes can potentially sit back and wait for the WEC 51 main event between Jose Aldo and Manny Gamburyan to conclude before he has to consider his next move. Of course, if the WEC doesn’t consider Chad Mendes the top contender after Manny Gamburyan, he could always face Mike Brown to determine the next challenger.
Next Round For Chad Mendes: Jose Aldo, Manny Gamburyan or Mike Brown
Next Round For Cub Swanson: Charlie Valencia or Leonard Garcia
Round Five: The WEC Is Heading To Arizona
The WEC held a contest along with Amp Energy Drinks to determine where a future WEC event will be held and the winner was Phoenix, Arizona. The announcement was so important that UFC President Dana White and former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber made the announcement. Phoenix, Arizona is the hometown of current WEC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson, who may be defending the gold against Anthony Pettis. Personally, it annoyed me that Phoenix, Arizona won the contest as, from a location perspective, I would have liked the event to head to Newark, New Jersey or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which were both on the list.
Next Round For Phoenix, Arizona: WEC 54
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
