Marlon Vera lands devastating KO kick in win against Dominick Cruz

Fans were treated to a great night of fights at UFC Fight Night San Diego. The undercard featured two fight of the year candidates as Dana White and fans rose to their feet, giving the four fighters standing ovations to show their appreciation of how great the fighters performed.

The main event didn’t disappoint either as Marlon Vera executed a stunning KO, as he landed a vicious head kick. The fight started off fast as the former two-time champion Dominick Cruz came out explosive, blitzing his opponent Marlon Vera early. Vera maintained his composure landing hard counter shots that buckled Cruz. Toward the end of the fourth round, Vera was able to circle his opponent and land a devastating head kick. In his pos-t fight interview, Vera credited his coach Jason Parillo for the devastating KO he told him in between rounds to "throw a bomb after your punches and you will find him." Cruz tried to duck away to his right and Vera caught him slipping with a left head kick. Cruz was actually up on all three judges' scorecards 29-28. However, the turning point was Vera landing a huge right hand in the third round. Vera, 29, has won nine of his past 11 fights overall and his 10 UFC bantamweight finishes are the most in division history. Cruz (24-4) is arguably the greatest bantamweight fighter in MMA history so this was a career defining win for Vera. Vera should be the favorite to fight the winner of UFC 280’s bantamweight title fight Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw. When asked about the idea of fighting the winner Vera responded. "At the end of the day, it's out of my control," Vera said. "I'm not tripping. I will keep working, I will keep kicking ass. ... I will be a world champion."