Marlon Vera head kicks Dominick Cruz for knockout win, stakes claim to title shot. Here’s Dominick Cruz vs marlon vera highlights.
Dominick Cruz : Marlon vera | Next fight | Highlights
Dominick Cruz is an American professional mixed martial artist, who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
| Born | Dominick Rojelio Cruz March 9, 1985 San Diego, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Dominator |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) |
| Division | Bantamweight (2008–present) Featherweight (2006–2008) Lightweight (2005–2006) |
| Reach | 68 in (173 cm) |
He is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion and was also the final bantamweight titleholder of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). As of May 2, 2022, he is #8 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.
Cruz is noted for his unorthodox movement, powerful wrestling base, quick striking, and his tendency to attack from angles in a fashion unlike any other fighter on the UFC roster.
He won the WEC bantamweight title in March 2010, and won the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship the following December.
After defending the belt twice in 2011, Cruz was sidelined by injuries in 2012 and subsequently stripped of the title in 2014.
Dominick Cruz vs Marlon vera
UFC San Diego took place August 13 at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif. Red-hot contender Marlon Vera (20-7-1) took on former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (24-4) in the night’s main event.
Marlon Vera might just be the most dangerous man in the UFC bantamweight division.
After a slow start to his fight in the UFC San Diego main event, Vera delivered an absolutely brutal head kick that blasted Dominick Cruz and sent him face first to the canvas in a heap to end the night in stunning fashion.
Cruz’s nose may never be the same after Vera’s foot just rearranged his face with kick as the fight was officially stopped 2:17 in the fourth round.
“It was hard to find the low kicks,” Vera explained about the finish. “In the fourth round, coach told me, throw a bomb after the punches and you will find him.”
That’s exactly how it played out but before the knockout, Vera had his hands full with a game Cruz, who was fighting in front of his hometown crowd on Saturday.
Next fight
Cruz (24-3) is always on the comeback. The inaugural UFC bantamweight champion gets to fight in front of his hometown on Saturday night for the first time since 2009.
After returning in 2020 to challenge Henry Cejudo for the title when most thought the veteran had retired in 2016 because of injuries, Cruz has looked good enough to contend in the loaded division.
A pair of wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz has Cruz thinking he get reach title contention once more.
“I can honestly say that I made the 20s really hard on myself with decision making, with mind, with thought process, with the stress,” Cruz told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “I’ve heard a lot that I seem calmer in interviews. I think that’s just because of the maturity of living life and having wins and losses and learning how to be more grateful for things instead of attaching to things. That’s really helped me keep from getting hurt, too, is the mindset. You can manifest a lot of injuries just by being stressed.
Dominick Cruz Highlights
Marlon Vera violently ended Dominick Cruz’s would-be title run earlier tonight (Sat., Aug. 13, 2022) at UFC San Diego live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to San Diego, Calif., on Sat., Aug. 13, 2022, for the first time since 2015 with a pivotal battle between top-ranked Bantamweight contenders that will see No. 5-ranked Marlon Vera take on former champion and No. 8-seeded Dominick Cruz.
https://youtu.be/PsJmeXTbY-Y
In San Diego’s co-main event, Nate Landwehr and David Onama will collide in a Featherweight showdown between dynamic 145-pound hopefuls.
Cruz started this fight really quickly, firing blitzing combinations and some hard kicks. “Chito” answered with a heavy left hook that dropped Cruz, but the former champion was up and firing before long. Cruz went right back to work, scoring punches and a takedown as Vera looked to time his opponent.
Vera got a bit more active in the second. While stalking Cruz, Vera did an admirable job of moving his head and blocking shots. Still, Cruz landed some very hard calf kicks. Cruz was still ahead on the volume game, but that began to shift in the third. Vera dropped his opponent again, and he really seemed to be starting to take control, blocking punches and land hard when he did open up.
Cruz kept fighting hard, but the tables had fully turned. Vera dropped him again with a hard jab in the fourth. Cruz popped back up yet again, but when he ducked into a perfectly timed left high kick, there would be no quick recovery — “Chito” picked up yet another brutal win.