Cruz vs Benavidez: A classic in the making...while nobody is paying attention

Promoted from FanPosts.

Every sport has so called "casual" fans,and so called "hardcore" fans. But for most sports the line between the two groups is very blurry,casual fans are quite similiar to hardcore fans, they just dont like,and dont follow the sport that much. Combat sports are the exception to this rule most of the time. Its like there is something in two guys beating each other up that draws a rather unique crowd to the events...a crowd thats not necessarily interested in skilled fighters or techniques,they just want to see two guys talking trash, than hurt each other. Not a big surprise that Brock Lesnar,a big,muscular, scary looking,trash talking guy is the biggest draw in MMA,and he would be that even if his fights were boring.

So this wednesday,we have a fight card,where the two fighters in the main-event:

• don't fight in the UFC (which,as a brand might be more well known in america,than the whole sport of MMA)
• never talk trash,both are humble nice guys,avoid all kind of trouble
• don't live a flamboyant lifestyle,they are just like you and me
• fight in the lightest out of the 7 major weight classes
• often go to decision.

So with this said,its not surprising,that there is virtually no hype surrounding this event,so who cares,right?

Well...if you are a fan of the sport,you should definitely care,and not only care,but be very excited about this main event,because this fight has all the ingredients to make a classic!

1. Striking - While neither of these guys are world class strikers,remember that we are talking about MMA,and for MMA they have very good striking. Benavidez outsruck every single opponent except Cruz,and that includes the former king of BW,Miguel Torres,and a quick KO victory over contender Rani Yahya. Dominick Cruz just makes everyone look like a fool with his unique style of boxing. While its not on K-1 MAX level,the fight will be entertaining for sure if both guys stay on their feet. So what happens if it hits the ground?

2. Grappling - The fight will still remain very exciting,thats what happens. Both guys have wrestling background,but in this case you dont have to worry about a passive wrestling fight,the kind of fight that usually involves Jon Fitch. No. These guys are constantly looking to improve position,land ground-n-pound,try submissions. And if you saw Josephs older fights as well,you know well that he has some nasty slams in his arsenal as well.

3. Cardio - Both guys are cardio machines. Even though this is a 5 round fight,and probably wont end early...these guys have huge heart,and seemingly endless cardio,so we can expect lots of action.

4. Unique styles - Who doesnt like watching fighters who bring something new to the table? Sometimes watching the UFC you might feel that you already saw that same exact fight,just with other fighters. But watching fighters with unique and exciting style like Nick Diaz,Fedor Emelianenko or Jon Jones has something very cool about it.
This is the case here as well,Joseph Benavidez is like the lighter version of Urijah Faber,never afraid to try some crazy moves,spinning backfist,flying kicks,just rushing in and trying to hit his opponent with something unexpected.
Dominick Cruz is completely different,and also very unique. Most of the time he relies on his boxing to win fights,he uses lots of footwork,head and body movement,hundreds of fakes and feints,and his punches are coming from very odd angles.

5. History - They already fought each other in a very good fight,where Dominick won a unanimous decision. It was an action packed,closely contested fight,so we already know these guys match up well with each other. You might ask: Dominick won last time,so its easy to predict that he will be the winner again,right? Well...its true that just based on their last fight its clear that Dominick should be the winner again,but ever since that loss,Joseph Benavidez had two incredible performances,knocking out the ever-underrated Yahya,and submitting Miguel Torres under two rounds,so the rematch seems to be really unpredictable,little Joseph is an improved fighter.

6. Something to fight for - WEC Bantamweight championship belt,enough said. Plus,the winner can easily find himself on some top10 p4p lists. Maybe even top5?

Bottom line is...the WEC always puts on incredibly exciting shows,they are like the K-1 MAX of MMA,and even if it wasnt for this fight,WEC 50 still would be a must-watch. But with this fight happening...be sure to tune in,lay back,and enjoy some of the highest level of fighting that MMA has to offer.