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UFC veterans Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez go a long way back. At the UFC 259 post-fight press conference, Dominick Cruz took a walk down the memory lane as he reminisced about his history with Benavidez.
The duo fought in a pair of scraps back in 2009 and 2010, even before joining the UFC. Benavidez came up short both times, falling by unanimous decision and split decision respectively in the entertaining bouts. Dominick Cruz spoke about how much respect he has for fighters like Benavidez and Tim Elliott who started their journey in MMA before it became a globally popular sport.
Although he respects all fighters, Cruz said he feels a different connection with the likes of Benavidez and Elliott. Dominick Cruz also spoke about the time he spent training with Elliott at Alliance MMA and about his 'wars' with Benavidez. Speaking about Benavidez, Cruz said that he still looks at the cut on the nose Benavidez gave him in one of their fights.
"There were a couple of guys that were on this card. Tim Elliott, Joseph Benavidez, and when you look at these guys, you guys look at each other in the eyes and you guys know that 'Hey, we're still here. You can't help it. I respect those guys with all my heart and I respect every fighter obviously. But there's a different connection with these guys."
"I have trained with Tim Elliott at Alliance back in the day and I've obviously had eight-round wars with Joseph Benavidez. He gave me one cut on my nose that I look at everyday and I have to think about him. So, things like that make a difference in your life. That's what's so beautiful about this sport."
Joseph Benavidez and Dominick Cruz stand on different ends of the spectrum following UFC 259
At UFC 259, both Benavidez and Cruz competed on the preliminary card against Askar Askarov and Casey Kenney respectively. While Dominick Cruz emerged victorious with a split decision win over Kenney, Benavidez succumbed to a lopsided decision loss against Askarov.
