WEC 50: Dominick Cruz vs Joseph Benavidez booked for Aug. 18 in Las Vegas

WEC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz (15-1) will make his first title defense against Joseph Benavidez (12-1) in the main event of WEC 50, currently scheduled for Aug. 15 at "The Pearl" from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cruz confirmed the expected booking via his official Twitter account earlier today.

The newly-minted 135-pound kingpin snatched the gold from the clutches of one-and-done champion Brian Bowles at WEC 47 back on March 6.

It was his sixth straight win since a submission loss to former featherweight champion Urijah Faber way back at WEC 26 in March 2007. His path to the title included a unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Benavidez in August of last year.

Now Benavidez gets a chance at both the belt and revenge.

Fortunately his 2009 loss to Cruz did little to disrupt his momentum.

Benavidez quickly bounced back with a technical knockout win over Rani Yahya at WEC 45 back in December before a convincing submission win over former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres in March.

Will he be able to learn from his first encounter with Cruz and adjust his gameplan accordingly? Or has the champion further distanced himself from the rest of the pack?

Whatever the case may be, it's certainly going to be an exciting to watch.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for future updates to the still-developing WEC 50 fight card.