WEC TITLE FIGHT HAD FIREWORKS!
Las Vegas, NV- WEC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz, 135 lbs, San Diego CA SD 5 Joseph Benavidez, 135, Sacramento, CA . Once again Dominick Cruz (16-1, 6 KOs, 1 SUB) was able to best Joseph Benavidez (12-2, 3 KOs, 7 SUBs) in an all out war. Benavidez did everything he could to lift the title from the only man ever to defeat him, but Cruz was simply too much (see big) for him. It seems Benavidez may ultimately be done in by his stature against a much taller and rangier fighter with the skill set of Cruz. In the end it was a great fight between two top tier fighters and both men will be hard to beat for anyone in the division.
UNDERCARD LIVED UP TO ANTICIPATION
Anthony Pettis, 155, Milwaukee, WI SUB 3 Shane Roller, 155, Bixby, OK. Even though Shane Roller put up a good fight, it seemed that all night long Pettis (12-1, 5 KOs, 6 SUBs) was one step ahead of him. Roller (8-3, 2 KOs, 5 SUBs) could never really get his wrestling game going as Pettis was able to avoid most of the takedown attempts. It appeared Pettis was going to walk away with a decision victory but with just ten ticks left on the clock in the last round, Roller found himself in a deep triangle choke and was forced to tap.
UNLIKE BOXER DAWSON, THIS CHAD IS BAD!
Chad Mendes, 145, Hanford, CA UD 3 Cub Swanson, 145, Palm Springs, CA. I was thoroughly impressed with Chad Mendes (8-0, 2 KOs, 2 SUBs) and his ability to dictate the pace and location of the fight. I certainly would have favored Swanson (14-4, 4 KOs, 7 SUBs) in this bout as he is a very explosive athlete with great skills and has been in against the better competition. Even so, Mendes took the fight to Swanson and even seemed to get the better of the striking in some spots. Chad Mendes is definitely a guy to watch in the featherweight (145) division.
RAZOR CLOSE FIGHT NOT INDICATIVE OF SCORES
Scott Jorgensen, 135, Boise, ID UD 3 Brad Pickett, 135, London, England. Jorgensen (11-3, 1 KO, 4 SUBs) may have won a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 on all three cards, but that doesn’t tell the full story as to how close this fight was. Both men had ups and downs throughout the fight and even though I thought Jorgensen edged Pickett (19-5, 6 KOs, 9 SUBs) 29-28, the fight could have realistically gone either way. Both guys put on a hell of a fight in a very entertaining and highly competitive bout; kudos to both men on their showing of talent, heart and desire.
KICKBOXER WENT FOR THE KILL IN SECOND
Bart Palaszewski, 155, Crystal Lakes, IL. KO 2 Zachary Micklewright, 155, Bettendorf, IA. After an entertaining and competitive kickboxing match in the first round, Bart Palaszewski (35-13, 16 KOs, 11 SUBs) wasted little time kicking off the second round as he stopped Micklewright (7-1, 2 KOs, 1 SUB) 31 seconds into the second frame. The previously undefeated Micklewright held his ground well with the vastly experienced Palaszewski, but his best was ultimately not enough. Palaszewski bags his fourth win in a row as he continues to climb the lightweight latter.
Matt “All Meat” Grizzle