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Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz Preview & Picks – Cruz To Spring UFC Fight Night Upset
- Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz picks for Saturday, August 13
- UFC Fight Night is taking place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California
- Preview, predictions and head to head stats
- Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz Preview & Picks
- Marlon Vera Form
- Dominick Cruz Form
- Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz FAQs
Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz Preview & Picks
Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz Preview & Picks
Dominick Cruz is backed to upset Marlon Vera in the main event.
Cruz may be in the twilight years of his career, but he is an elusive striker with great grappling.
His unorthodox footwork is tipped to keep him out of trouble as he outworks Vera over five rounds.
- Dominick Cruz has never lost a non-title fight in his career
- Dominick Cruz has won 15 of his last 17 fights
- Marlon Vera’s 7 career losses have all been by decision
- Dominick Cruz has a 71% striking defense (Vera 50%)
- Dominick Cruz has an 83% takedown defense (68%)
- Dominick Cruz averages 2.88 takedowns per 15 minutes (Vera 0.73)
Marlon Vera Form
Marlon Vera has won his last three fights to move into the top five in the bantamweight division.
Vera went 4-4 in his first eights after joining the UFC, but improved his stock between 2019 and 108.
He won five straight fights before finally seeing his streak end with a unanimous decision defeat to Song Yadong.
The 29-year-old Ecuadorian bounced back with a first-round stoppage of Sean O’Malley, but he failed to follow that up.
In the biggest fight of his career, in December 2020, Vera dropped a decision to former featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
He has not lost since though, embarking on a three-fight win streak to climb the ladder and enter the top five.
Vera bested Davey Grant over three rounds and then knocked out ex-lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in the third round.
He then made it three-in-a-row when he registered a decision win against Rob Font back in April.
That victory took Vera’s professional record to 19-7-1, with seven wins coming by KO/TKO and eight by submission.
All seven of his career defeats have come on the judges’ scorecards.
Dominick Cruz Form
Two-time champion Dominick Cruz is looking for a victory that will propel him back into the top five.
The 36-year-old entered the UFC as the inaugural bantamweight champion after the company integrated World Extreme Cagefighting in 2011.
Cruz was the last man to hold the WEC belt, having beaten Brian Bowles Joseph Benavidez and Scott Jorgensen during his 2010 defences.
In his UFC debut he beat long-time rival Urijah Faber by decision to defend his crown, and then followed that up with a decision success against Demetrious Johnson.
However, injury would derail his career over the next couple of years and Cruz was stripped of the belt.
He ended a three-year absence with a 61-second knockout of Takeya Mizugaki in 2014, and in his next outing he regained the bantamweight belt.
Cruz earned a split decision win over TJ Dillashaw in January 2016, and less than six months later he defeated Faber for a second time.
‘The Dominator’ was unable to see out the year with the belt though, losing a decision to Cody Garbrandt that December.
Injuries once again sidelined Cruz after that defeat, this time for over three years, and in his return in 2020 he was stopped in the second round by Henry Cejudo.
Cruz has not lost since though, having registered back-to-back wins in 2021 with decision successes against Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz.
Those wins took his career record to 24-3, with seven wins coming by KO/TKO and one by submission.
Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz FAQs
Where can I watch the Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz live stream?
You can watch the Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz stream by using ExpressVPN.
Where is Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz taking place?
Marlon Vera vs Dominick Cruz is taking place at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, August 13 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
Verdict
The bookies are not backing Dominick Cruz, but history suggests it is a risk to rule him out.
‘The Dominator’ has only ever lost in title fights and he boasts an elite all-round skill set, so we are backing the underdog here.
‘The Dominator’ has only ever lost in title fights and he boasts an elite all-round skill set, so we are backing the underdog here.
Dominick Cruz
Winner
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Cruz by decision
Method Of Victory
@280.00 - 2 Units
25 SC no deposit & 250,000 GC
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