All 22 fighters made weight Friday for WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz, which takes place Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio.
Bantamweight champion Brian Bowles weighed in at 134.5 and Dominick Cruz 134 for their headlining title bout.
Former 135-pound belt-holder Miguel Torres also hit the scale at 134.5 while his opponent for the co-main event Joseph Benavidez came in right on the number.
The first ever lightweight champion in the UFC’s history, Jens Pulver (145.5) takes on Javier Vazquez (145) in a featured featherweight bout.
Saturday’s bout will be Bowles’s first in the WEC outside Las Vegas, not to mention his first title defence since shocking Torres with a first-round knockout last August to capture the crown.
“I haven’t had a chance to fight anywhere else than Vegas. (Columbus) is kind of close to where I am from. So I am excited,” the Athens, Ga., native said on a recent conference call. “I try to stay grounded and keep doing what I do. If I let stuff go to my head, I might change.
“The only thing I have to do right now is defend my title. He’s the type of guy who boxes you, takes you down and scores.”
Cruz, who has won his last four by decision, isn’t taking anything for granted.
“I know for a fact that I have power and I know for a fact that I can finish fights,” Cruz said in a recent release. “I go into every fight with the mentality to finish my opponent.”
Torres, who has been relegated to co-main event for the first time since June 2008 — breaking a streak of three straight events with his name in the title — saw a silver lining in his surprise loss to Bowles, his first defeat in 18 fights.
“The loss to (Bowles) was the best thing that could have happened to my career,” Torres said on the same conference call. “The biggest thing after my fight with (him) was getting my time in order. When I got back to my gym, I had to fix things so it could run by itself. I got a gym manager. I also went other places to train.”
Completing the bantamweight shuffle, Benavidez, who was the last fighter Cruz beat, hopes to make Torres his stepping stone to a title shot, not the other way around.
“I have to pave my way and get people excited about me. I don’t mind that role at all,” Benavidez said. “It motivates me. I feel like every fight just gets bigger.”
NOTES: The UFC has another Canadian in the fold. Toronto’s Claude Patrick has signed a four-fight deal with the organization, and he expects to make his debut at the upcoming event in Vancouver.
