Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz verbally agreed on for Aug. 13
A possible bantamweight title contention fight is in the works between Marlon Vera and Dominick Cruz.
The UFC bantamweight division is really heating up with the top ten starting to fall into place. Champion Aljamain Sterling is fresh off his first title defense over number one contender Petr Yan. This win solidifies Sterling at the top and now with Yan coming off a loss to him, sets up the rest of the top five or even ten to fight for the next shot at the gold. One man who has been actively pursuing possible opponents to get him to that shot is Marlon Vera.
Vera has been calling for a fight with both Yan and Dominick Cruz and now it seems that Cruz has accepted the call. First reported by ESPN Deportes, Cruz and Vera will meet at the Fight Night event on August 13. Vera is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Rob Font at UFC Vegas 53. The win launched him into the top five and the name-calling began. He was first going back and forth with Yan and it seemed that was the direction he would be headed in. Instead, no date could be determined and Marlon shifted his focus.
Cruz has been determined to get back in the top five and back in title contention. This bout with Vera is a perfect fit. Cruz’s last win in the Octagon was a Fight of the Night winner against Pedro Munhoz in Dec. Although both of these men are gunning for a shot at Sterling, there are two other men in the top five that have their eyes set on that prize, Jose Aldo and TJ Dillashaw.
The Aug. 13 fight card to date is as follows:
Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz
Devin Clark vs. Azamat Murzakanov
Aspen Ladd vs. Sara McMann
Alexa Grasso vs. Viviane Araujo
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Istela Nunes
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bruno Silva
Lukasz Brzeski vs. Martin Buday
