When Cruz gets back into the cage at WEC 50 on Aug. 18, a familiar foe will be in front of him. Just a smidge over a year since he bested Joseph Benavidez on points, Cruz will rematch the Team Alpha Male rep in the first defense of his WEC bantamweight crown.
2. Brian Bowles (8-1)
In his first title defense, Bowles was a step behind Dominick Cruz throughout the WEC 47 main event. After two rounds of one-way action, Bowles bowed out when a doctor examined his broken right hand.
3. Joseph Benavidez (12-1)
Rousing back-to-back stoppages of Rani Yahya and former WEC champion Miguel Torres were enough to convince WEC brass that Benavidez deserved a shot at the bantamweight title on Aug. 18. The onus now falls on the Team Alpha Male product to prove that he has improved enough to beat champion Dominick Cruz, who easily bested him on points last August.
4. Miguel Torres (37-3)
Coming off consecutive losses for the first time in his career, Torres’ bantamweight stature will be on the line when he returns to the cage on Sept. 30 at WEC 51. The former WEC champion will attempt to get back into the win column when he takes on sturdy veteran Charlie Valencia.
5. Scott Jorgensen (10-3)
“Young Guns” continues to rocket towards a title shot, and he has emerged as the likely next contender to face the winner of the Dominick Cruz-Joseph Benavidez rematch. To solidify that spot, Jorgensen will need to deal with surging Brit Brad “One Punch” Pickett at WEC 50 on Aug. 18.
6. Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2)
Mizugaki was set for the one of the biggest bouts of his career, as he was scheduled to welcome former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber to the bantamweight division at WEC 50 on Aug. 18. However, Faber’s knee injury nixed the bout and left Mizugaki in the lurch, with no opponent for the time being.
7. Damacio Page (15-4)
Coming off shoulder surgery, Page was set for an April 24 return against Antonio Banuelos on the main card of the WEC 48 pay-per-view. However, further injury woes will keep the Greg Jackson pupil out of action a bit longer.
8. Rani Yahya (15-6)
Yahya’s road to another shot at the WEC bantamweight title just got longer. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace dropped his second straight bout at WEC 48, losing a unanimous verdict to Takeya Mizugaki in a ho-hum affair that drops him behind the pack in the WEC 135-pound division.
9. Shuichiro Katsumura (11-7-3)
Katsumura will meet a yet-to-be-named opponent at “The Way of Shooto 5” at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Sept. 23. It will be the first action for the unlikely Shooto world champion since he claimed the title in his March submission upset of Masakatsu Ueda.
10. Masakatsu Ueda (11-1-2)
Desperately needing an impressive win to erase the memories of his March upset loss to Shuichiro Katsumura, Ueda was on point in his May 30 bout with WEC veteran Akitoshi Tamura. The former Shooto world champion used all phases of his game -- developing striking included -- to take a well-appointed unanimous decision.
Other contenders: Antonio Banuelos, Wagnney Fabiano, Michael McDonald, Charlie Valencia, Eddie Wineland.