Produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the long-awaited return to California takes place on August 13 and will bring a new matchup that will include the best 26 fighters in the 135-pound division.
The upcoming UFC Fight Night in San Diego will be headlined by a bantamweight fight as Marlon “Chito” Vera meets Dominick Cruz in the five-round main card. On Saturday, all MMA fans can enjoy watching Dominick Cruz’s return as one of the greatest fighters in 135-pound cage’s relevancy. Meanwhile, Vera’s win in this matchup is also important as it could get a championship opportunity later this year.
Along with this fantastic matchup, the night’s preliminary event features the return of such women flyweights as Cynthia Calvillo and Nina Nunes. That said, there are also a bunch of UFC veterans like Aspen Ladd and Alexa Grasso that couldn’t make it to this event. The cancellation of the matchups is a positive result of COVID-19 for Ladd and some visa issues for Grasso. After saying that, we can focus more on the main event of this UFC Fight Night, where two of the very best champions will take the martial arts at Pechanga Arena, San Diego.
Marlon “Chito” Vera
The story of Marlon Vera is so compelling in the way that this guy has transformed himself into a fan favorite and a legitimately great fighter over five years. In 2014, he first came to the UFC and had a really hard time, with ups and downs, throughout his career. Now, many consider Chito the best in the history of the bantamweight division. Below, you can see what carried him to that level.
What Makes Him so Popular?
Although Vera is a complete fighter, he is a bantamweight veteran and legend for his profound level of striking. Over 27 fights in the top MMA promotion on the planet, he has compiled a 19-7-1 record. Six of those fights were title matchups.
Aside from this record, Marlon Vera is constantly trying to be active in creating his brand and the social community around him. For example, his connection with elite sports goes further by joining the world of eSports and gaming. Chito was among the first athletes involved in the new project called Complexity Stars, launched by the CS:GO Complexity Gaming organization. If you are interested to see more content from this project or follow the csgo match today of the North American team – we have linked the website here for you.
Current Rankings
Marlon “Chito” Vera has won three consecutive fights to rise into 7th place in the MMA Fighting’s ranking in the bantamweight division. In June 2023, he def. Davey Grant via unanimous decision and proved himself far more than just an entertaining fighter but a strong athlete with powerful technical skills.
At the close of 2023, Chito faced Frankie Edgar (23-10-1) and beat him via KO/TKO (punches) at Round 3. And finally, he ascended to the top 7 in the MMA Fighting’s ranking (bantamweight division) after claiming the victory via unanimous decision over Rob Font. At the moment, Vera has a 19-7-1 win/loss ratio, which is not perfect, but still requires an elite-level of talent for a 135-pound titlist to defeat him.
Dominick Cruz
As we have mentioned above, the legendary Dominick Cruz will come back to the UFC’s competitive stage on Saturday night at UFC San Diego.
We have already seen Cruz’s return from the first loss in a streak of his entire career to win the last two fights. But he looked noticeably diminished in these two matchups. Despite this, he is still one of the smartest guys and his fighting IQ can carry him through these fights. Moreover, Cruz manages to prove that being away from competitive fights doesn’t mean a fighter can’t stay sharp.
Current Rankings
Dominick Cruz is a two-time UFC champion at 135 pounds. Nevertheless, he had a great number of ups and downs throughout his career. First of all, he has suffered from more knee surgeries than we can count. Second of all, he is 36-year-old, and it seemed like “The Dominator” had finally grown old. Moreover, after losing to Henry Cejudo in 2020, he was no longer a top 10 fighter in his division.
That said, Dominick managed to rebound from the first losing streak of his career and reached the top 9 of the MMA Fighting’s ranking after patching two respectable wins over Pedro Munhoz and Casey Kenney. Over 27 fights in the top MMA promotion on the planet, he has compiled a 24-3 record.
How to Watch UFC San Diego?
This UFC event takes place at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. A total of 12 fights starts, as usual, with the preliminary card at 5:00 pm ET and then the main card goes at 7:00 pm ET. All the matchups are available exclusively on the sports streaming ESPN+ platform. Unfortunately, this service doesn’t offer free trials, but you can get access to it with a monthly rate of $7. As for buying tickets to the event, go to the official UFC website.