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.
It was a fast start from Cruz that saw him coming out of the corner guns blazing as he looked to establish his dominance early while keeping Vera on his backfoot. Vera stayed composed before throwing a perfectly timed counter left hand that sat Cruz on the canvas momentarily until the former bantamweight champion bounced back to his feet.
Cruz recovered quickly from the knockdown as he continued blitzing Vera with rapid-fire combinations while also mixing in a late takedown. That nearly backfired when Vera threw an armbar attempt that forced Cruz to scramble free before getting back to the feet again.
Cruz continued to display blinding speed and volume on the feet as he looked to outland Vera in every exchange. In return, Vera was trying to set up his power punches but he was still reacting to what Cruz was doing, which typically left him a step behind in many of the exchanges.
With Cruz acting as the aggressor, he was landing on target but then Vera evened the score with a stunning right hand that connected flush on the chin. Yet again, Cruz dropped to the canvas but he got back to his feet almost as quickly.
As Cruz kept moving on the feet, Vera stayed patient as he waited for the right moment to throw punches while also attempting to set up his kicks. When Cruz ducked out of the way as a combination came flying at him, Vera saw the opening he needed to launch the head kick.
The foot connected flush with the face as Cruz just went down to the canvas as the referee rushed in to save him before Vera could punish him further. It was an unbelievable finish as Vera is now only the second fighter to finish Cruz with strikes and the first person to ever hand him a loss in a non-title fight.
More importantly, the win moves Vera that much closer to a title shot of his own, although he’s not losing any sleep about how quickly that might happen because he knows eventually he’ll get there.
“I came to this sport to be a world champion,” Vera said. “I’m not tripping. I will keep working and I will keep kicking ass. I’m gonna be a f****** world champion.”