Let’s get this out of the way. I scored WEC 50’s main event 49-48 for Benavidez. I gave the first and second rounds to Benavidez, round four to Cruz, and I handed out 10-10’s for the middle and the caboose. My TweetDeck told me that Jordan Breen scored the fight 48-48, Miguel Torres went 50-45 Cruz, and the rest of the MMA media seemed to lean towards Cruz as well.
As always, FightMetric has the raw data for us. So, how did we do?
The FightMetric Effectiveness Score translated to a 50-45 decision for Cruz. He didn’t run away with any round, so let’s look at the breakdown. (DC = Dominick Cruz, JB = Joseph Benavidez, TS = Total Strikes, SS = Significant Strikes, TD = Takedowns, FMES = FightMetric Effectiveness Scores, TPM = Ten Point Must scoring)
| DC TS | DC SS | DC TD | JB TS | JB SS | JB TD | FMES | TPM | |
| Round 1 | 29 | 17 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 51-44 DC | 10-9 DC |
| Round 2 | 19 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 56-39 DC | 10-9 DC |
| Round 3 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 41-22 DC | 10-9 DC |
| Round 4 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0* | 56-40 DC | 10-9 DC |
| Round 5 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 54-34 DC | 10-9 DC |
| Total | 103 | 58 | 5 | 46 | 35 | 0 | 262-179 DC | 50-45 DC |
* – Benavidez was credited with a submission attempt (guillotine) in round four.
Given the data above, it’s hard to make a case for a Benavidez scorecard. You’d have to make the argument Benavidez’s strikes were significantly “more effective” to combat the edge in volume that Cruz enjoyed in every round. And while I think Cruz’s takedowns outside of the fourth round were more for show, they add a bit of a cherry on top to his striking advantage.
But that’s the beauty of a DVR. This should be good for a couple rewatches.