Former two-time bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz continued his journey on Saturday towards another title shot as he took on No. 5-ranked Marlon Vera. A win for Cruz would have put him one step closer to getting a fight against the winner of the UFC 280 title bout featuring champion Aljamain Sterling and former titlist TJ Dillashaw.
But Vera's striking had other plans in mind as he kicked Cruz's head against the cage and knocked him out at the point of impact at the 2:17 mark of the fourth round from the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif.
Cruz was in control in the first two rounds. He was using his superb footwork, and excellent boxing to keep Vera at bay and not feel his power. But things changed from the third round until the stoppage.
Knowing he was down on the scorecards heading into the third, Vera started letting his hands go, which paid off in spades. He dropped Cruz on two occasions and saw Cruz's spirit slowly being taken out of him.
Then in the fourth round, Vera was stuffing Cruz's takedown attempts with relative ease, and the former 135-pound was breathing heavily. Cruz almost had his back against the cage when he saw the head kick coming but couldn't move far enough as the foot hit Cruz square in the head and sent him flying to the cage and out of for the count.
Vera (20-7-1) has now won four consecutive fights and is on the verge of a title shot.
“I came to this sport to be a world champion,” Vera said in his post-fight interview. “I’m not tripping. I will keep working, and I will keep kicking ass. I’m gonna be a f—ing
world champion.”
Here was our live coverage of UFC San Diego: Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz.
But Vera's striking had other plans in mind as he kicked Cruz's head against the cage and knocked him out at the point of impact at the 2:17 mark of the fourth round from the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif.
Cruz was in control in the first two rounds. He was using his superb footwork, and excellent boxing to keep Vera at bay and not feel his power. But things changed from the third round until the stoppage.
Knowing he was down on the scorecards heading into the third, Vera started letting his hands go, which paid off in spades. He dropped Cruz on two occasions and saw Cruz's spirit slowly being taken out of him.
Then in the fourth round, Vera was stuffing Cruz's takedown attempts with relative ease, and the former 135-pound was breathing heavily. Cruz almost had his back against the cage when he saw the head kick coming but couldn't move far enough as the foot hit Cruz square in the head and sent him flying to the cage and out of for the count.
Vera (20-7-1) has now won four consecutive fights and is on the verge of a title shot.
“I came to this sport to be a world champion,” Vera said in his post-fight interview. “I’m not tripping. I will keep working, and I will keep kicking ass. I’m gonna be a f—ing
world champion.”
Here was our live coverage of UFC San Diego: Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz.