Dominick Cruz says he’s among world’s best, hard to argue with him

By Brett Okamoto

Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010 | 12:37 a.m.

Dominick Cruz successfully defended his WEC bantamweight title for the first time Wednesday, posting a split decision win over Joseph Benavidez in front of a hostile, sellout crowd at The Pearl at The Palms.

Following the fight, Cruz frankly stated what some members of the pro-Benavidez crowd were probably thinking but refused to admit.

“I rank among the best in the world,” Cruz said. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”

Cruz (16-1) has his reasons for thinking so.

The 25-year-old champ has now won his last seven fights, a streak that dates back to March 2007.

That loss, the only one of his career, was to then-WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber and fought at 145 pounds.

Since dropping to the 135-pound division in 2008, Cruz has seemed untouchable.

“Since he went to 135, nobody has been able to stop him,” said WEC manager Reed Harris. “I see this guy potentially holding on to the belt for a long time. Cruz took some huge shots tonight from Benavidez and he kept on ticking.”

The fact that Cruz has been so successful in the lighter division is almost ironic considering it’s arguably the tougher division of the two.

It’s no secret Cruz has entered nearly all of his WEC fights as an underdog, but it’s hard to blame oddsmakers for the oversight.

The WEC bantamweight division is loaded with talent, including Benavidez, Brian Bowles, Miguel Torres and Scott Jorgensen.

“I looked at one of the websites that rank (fighters) and I have nine of the top 10 in that (135-pound) division right now,” Harris said. “We have the top guys here (in the WEC). At 135, there are no easy fights for these guys.”

Although Cruz’s name had started to appear on many pound-for-pound lists throughout the MMA community prior to Wednesday’s title defense, there were doubts as to how he might fare facing an opponent for the second time in his career.

Benavidez entered Wednesday’s fight with the advantage of already having seen Cruz’s unique fighting style for three rounds during a fight on Aug. 9, 2009.

But even knowing what to expect, Benavidez couldn’t come up with an answer for the Cruz puzzle and admitted to feeling surprised it wasn’t a unanimous decision from the judges.

“I figured I didn’t do enough to win,” Benavidez said. “When the one judge had my name it was a quite a surprise. I was like, ‘Is this the work of God?’

“I wanted to take him down but he’s hard to find. He’s got those skinny, wiry legs and a real little head that you can’t hold on to. He’s a great wrestler and he times things really well.”

Cruz’s next task will likely be against the red-hot Jorgensen, who has won five straight.

Although Harris said the WEC might wait until a show planned for Sept. 30 is over to make the announcement, he admitted that Jorgensen vs. Cruz "makes a lot of sense."

Like Cruz, Jorgensen is a talented striker who knows how to outlast his opponents. Out of his latest five-fight winning streak, three fights have been back-and-forth brawls that ended in unanimous decisions for Jorgensen.

“I honestly think I’m the better striker,” Jorgensen said. “My wrestling is better than his, too. If I want to take someone down, I will. If he tries to stop me I have a few tricks in my bag.”

While Harris never doubts the capabilities of any of his fighters, he made it clear that any fighter looking to take down Cruz has his work cut out for him.

Like you heard from the champion himself, Cruz is one of the best in the world.

“I don’t know what kind of fighter it’s going to take to beat him,” Harris said. “He’s got great wrestling, great angles, he never gets tired and he can take a punch. How do you beat a guy like that?”

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting