MMA Top 10 Bantamweights: Dominick Cruz Tightens His Hold

By Michael David Smith - Lead Blogger

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<! mediaid=3278887 AP: img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="" />If there was any doubt that Dominick Cruz was the best bantamweight in mixed martial arts, he erased that doubt Wednesday night by defeating the tough but ultimately overmatched Joseph Benavidez in a split decision that gave Cruz his second victory over the No. 2 fighter in the division.

Benavidez is a great fighter (he's 12-0 when fighting anyone other than Cruz), but it's his friend and training partner Urijah Faber who has handed Cruz his only career loss, and is likely to fight Cruz again some time early next year, this time for the bantamweight title.

Once Faber makes the move down to bantamweight, I think he'll be a Top 10 fighter in the class -- and he might just beat Cruz again and move to the top. For now, he's absent from the Cruz-dominated bantamweight rankings, which are below.
(Editor's Note: Number in parentheses is the fighter's rank in the last list.)

Top 10 Bantamweights in MMA
1. Dominick Cruz (1): If there's a criticism of Cruz, it's that he goes to decision too often. Other than an injured Brian Bowles failing to answer the bell for the third round, Cruz has never finished an opponent in the WEC. I admit that I'd like to see Cruz press harder to bring his fights to an emphatic end, but I still like his style and don't think he deserves the "boring" label that gets attached to some guys who win decisions every time around.

2. Joseph Benavidez (2): I really, really wish the WEC would create a flyweight class already so Benavidez could take on guys his own size. At 125 pounds, Benavidez would be a powerhouse. At 135, he's accomplished all he's ever going to accomplish.

3. Brian Bowles (3): Bowles is still recovering from the injuries he suffered in his loss to Cruz, and there's no word on when we're going to see him again. I'd like to see how a healthy Bowles would do against Cruz in a rematch, but I think Bowles is going to have to get in line behind Faber and probably a few other challengers, and it will be a while before Bowles gets another title shot.

4. Miguel Torres (4): It's still a little hard to believe that Torres, the longtime bantamweight champion who started his career 37-1, is now on a two-fight losing streak. He should be able to use his size and reach advantage to beat Charlie Valencia at WEC 51, but then again I thought Torres would use his size and reach advantage to beat Bowles and Benavidez as well.

5. Scott Jorgensen (5): His unanimous decision victory over Brad Pickett at WEC 50 was his fifth straight win and may have put him next in line for a shot at Cruz, although I suspect the WEC will see how things shake out with Faber before making any decisions on that front.

6. Masakazu Imanari (7): Americans hardly ever get to see him because he fights in Japan's DEEP promotion, but Imanari is a brilliant submission specialist who's on a three-fight winning streak since losing a decision to Bibiano Fernandes in Dream's featherweight tournament. The WEC has such a stranglehold on the bantamweight class that Imanari is the only non-WEC fighter on this list. Here's hoping he makes his way to North America some day.

7. Wagnney Fabiano (8): His 14-2 record is impressive, but he's usually stuck on prelims because the WEC doesn't consider his style of grinding out decisions to be television-friendly. I'd love to see him against Bowles, but I don't think that's a fight the WEC wants to book.

8. Takeya Mizugaki (9) The current plan in the WEC is to keep Mizugaki on the shelf until Urijah Faber is ready for his bantamweight debut. A Mizugaki-Faber fight would be a great one, although you can bet everyone at Zuffa will be nervous about Mizugaki derailing their hopes of a Faber-Cruz pay-per-view bout.

9. Charlie Valencia (10): Like Benavidez, I think Valencia would be better off at 125 pounds. But as long as that weight class isn't available to him, he's taking big fights at 135 pounds, with Torres up next at WEC 51.

10. Rani Yahya: Coming off losses to Benavidez and Mizugaki, Yahya is on a two-fight losing streak, but he's a threat to submit anyone in his weight class. And at age 25, he's only getting better.

Read More: Brian Bowles (MMA), Charlie Valencia (MMA), Dominick Cruz (MMA), Joseph Benavidez (MMA), Masakazu Imanari (MMA), Miguel Torres (MMA), Rani Yahya (MMA), Scott Jorgensen (MMA), Takeya Mizugaki (MMA), Wagnney Fabiano (MMA)

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