Dominick Cruz gave Joseph Benavidez his first defeat Sunday night at WEC 42 in Las Vegas. Benavidez, who was 10-0 coming into the fight, was pitted against Cruz’s longer reach and height advantage.

The two were pretty even on the feet, but due to Cruz’s reach, Benavidez could not sit in the pocket for long, so his game plan was to move in, throw some combos, and get back out.

Because Benavidez was a New Mexico state wrestling champion, most people, including Benavidez, was probably not expecting Cruz to take him down so easily and often.

Although Cruz repeatedly put Benavidez on his back, he was not able to capitalize. That changed in the final round as Cruz put Benavidez down once again and took his back, flattened him out, and was going for a rear-naked choke when the bell sounded.

All three judges scored the fight for Cruz, giving him his fourth straight win in the WEC. At 14-1, his only career loss came against Urijah Faber in 2007.

Interestingly enough, Benavidez is part of Faber’s Team Alpha Male. Surely, he will take this defeat and learn from it. Cruz, on the other hand, moves one step closer to a shot at the WEC Bantamweight Title.

For a complete listing of WEC 42’s winners and losers and our play-by-play go here: WEC 42 results & play by play.

By: Jack Bratcher

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