Marlon "Chito" Vera eyes title after brutal knockout of Cruz

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Marlon "Chito" Vera eyes title after brutal knockout of Cruz 

The UFC’s Bantamweight division is starting to look more and more exciting thanks to a man that seems to have no fear in the cage. Marlon “Chito” Vera is fighting and talking like a champion. The  #5 ranked bantamweight in the world spoke to BT Sport after defeating veteran and former division champ Dominick Cruz and claimed “I’m going to be a world champion”. Going forward that is the mentality Vera will need to possess these next few months, just ask Brandon Moreno four years ago. 

 One thing every fighter and fan knows about winning in this sport is that timing is everything. You can lose every round, however one perfectly timed shot can change the course of the entire fight. For most of the main-event  at UFC San Diego, Dominick Cruz kept the distance and flowed effectively with his kicks and punches. His orthodox style kept Vera guessing and out of rhythm.Cruz out-struck Vera 100-66 in total strikes and even took him down twice in this fight. When it came to those signature leg kicks, Cruz even beat him there as well 22-13. Even with rounds and stats against him Vera and his coaches stayed calm, analyzed the fight, and noticed for every jab Vera would throw, Cruz would dip his head with his eyes to the mat. In this position it would be impossible to defend the head kick. Halfway through the 4th round of the fight, Vera would land another beautiful head-kick that would knock-out Cruz out cold. Another legend falls at the hands of Chito and the UFC should be on notice. 

 

The way the rankings look as of now in the division, we might be headed to a collision course between a couple of different narratives where Vera could land a title shot within the next few months. At UFC 278, (#3)  Jose Aldo will face (#6) Merab Dvalishvili. On September 17th, (#4) Cory Sandhagen will face an up and coming (#10) Song Yadong.  Finally, UFC 280 will bring two top 15 matchups for the division : (C) Aljamain Sterling will face veteran (#2) TJ Dillashaw, and (#13) Sean O’mailley will face the number one contender, Peter Yan. With all of these matchups being presented in the coming weeks a title shot for Vera is very likely. He is either fighting for #1 contender against Peter Yan, TJ Dilashaw,  a hungry Sean O’mailley looking to avenge his lone loss or facing Jose Aldo who beat Vera by decision in 2020. Since the loss, Marlon Vera has gone on to beat Dominick Cruz, Rob Font, Frankie Edgar, and Davey Grant. Aljamain Sterling might be the champ for now but Marlon “Chito” Vera says his time is coming. Whatever happens it is clear, the proud Ecuadorian is going to put on a show for fight fans everywhere.

Written by: Isaac Gomez