Former two-time UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz appears to be done as a title contender after suffering a brutal knockout loss on Saturday evening.
The 37-year-old started well in the UFC San Diego main event against Marlon Vera and he was able to outstrike his opponent during the early stages of the fight.
‘Chito’ always appeared to be just one shot away from changing the course of the fight which was mostly Cruz throwing rapid-fire combinations while mixing in the odd takedown attempt.
In round four, though, Cruz ducked out of the way of a combination and left an opening for his opponent who unleashed a monumental head kick that sent ‘The Dominator’ crashing face-first to the canvas.
Vera landed a few follow-up strikes on his stricken foe before veteran referee Herb Dean was able to call off the fight and save Cruz from taking any more unnecessary damage.
In real-time, the KO is absolutely epic, however, slow-motion footage has now revealed the amount of damage Vera caused when his foot cracked the face of Cruz.
As the kick connects, you can see Cruz’s nose shatter before he falls lifeless to the floor and the fight comes to an end 2:17 into the fourth round.
This is not the first epic KO on Vera’s resume.
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In November 2021, the 29-year-old was matched against another former champion Frankie Edgar and the result was just as brutal as what we saw at UFC San Diego.
The Ecuadorian fighter landed a front kick to the chin of his opponent whose face was comically rearranged before he dropped to the floor and the bout was called off in round three.
Vera is now on a four-fight win streak and seems to be closing in on a shot at the 135lb title.
It is expected to be on the line later this year when Aljamain Sterling takes on TJ Dillashaw.
It’s currently unclear what the future holds for Cruz, who has lost three of his last five fights and has never really looked the same since coming back from a string of career-threatening injuries.
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