See how fellow fighters reacted to Marlon Vera closing out UFC San Diego by knocking Dominick Cruz out cold
Marlon Vera came to UFC San Diego a man on a mission and he’ll leave accomplished, knocking our former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in the main event and solidifying himself as a title shot candidate.
Vera dropped Cruz with a hook very early, but Cruz recovered and dominated for most of th eroudn otherwise. Cruz utilized his low kicks and combinations and work on the body of Vera, with Vera’s only other notable moment in the first being a triangle submission attempt.
Cruz continued to use his combinations to success in the second, but Vera turned up the heat in the third round. Vera seemed to be re-energized with a sense of urgency and he stuffed a couple of Cruz takedown attempts.
Vera dropped Cruz again in the fourth round as he began to pressure Cruz back before finishing things with a devastating head-kick knockout.
UFC San Diego: Pros react to Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz
Vera entered this bout on a three-fight win streak and with four wins in his previous five bouts, stretching back to him ending Sean O’Malley’s undefeated record. After losing to Jose Aldo, Vera scored unanimous decision wins over Davey Grant and Rob Font, with a highlight-reel knockout of Frankie Edgar sandwiched between.
After falling short in a title shot against Henry Cejudo in 2020, a fight that marked the start of a comeback following over three years of inactivity, Cruz scored decision wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz in 2021.