Dominick Cruz, Chito Vera ready to wage war in UFC

MANILA, Philippines – When Dominick Cruz and Marlon “Chito” Vera meet inside the Octagon for UFC Fight Night on Sunday, August 14, at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California, brace for a huge battle.

War should erupt in this bantamweight match, with the winner moving a match or two closer to a shot at the title held by Aljamain Sterling. 

Vera, ranked fifth (19-7-1, 13-6 in the UFC) and Cruz, ranked eighth (24-3-0, 7-2 in the UFC), are two of the more exciting fighters in the UFC who are all action. Collectively, both have six performances of the night and three fight of the night awards. 

Vera throws a high volume of shots and when they land, they put the big hurt on the opponent. Cruz, on the other hand, is hard to hit because of his unorthodox style of movement and fighting. 

“People are going to get exactly what they are looking for in a tactical battle,” promised Cruz in an interview with Philstar.com. “I am not going to give him what he wants, which is a phone book fight. Instead, I will be quick and slick.”

“When I watch Vera, he likes to pressure and keep his guard up and throw a lot of punches. But he doesn’t like to use a lot of footwork. I don’t sit still and I have a lot in my tank to keep moving the whole time. I am going to outthink and out-skill him and beat him to the punch.”

Cruz, a two-time bantamweight champion in the UFC, is on a two-match win streak after coming off two shocking losses and a lot of time on sick bay after various injuries.

“I can honestly say I am 100% and I am excited for this Sunday. When I am at 100%, I put on good fights,” said Cruz. 

“It did hurt my confidence when I lost to Cody Garbrandt and Henry Cejudo (prior to his current two-match win streak). After all, I am only human,” admitted Cruz. “I had to transform my mindset.”

“When I lost to Cody, I got pulled into all that trash talking and jabs because I had injuries heading into that fight. Vera is using a similar tactics, but I have a different mentality because of my losses.”

“I am ready to die in the ring. You think of combat sports and it is a real thing. It isn’t a game. This is a life and death scenario.  I put it all on the line and I am ready.”

UFC Fight Night: Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz will be televised live on the Premier Sports Channel over Skycable and Cignal as well as on the TapGo streaming application live at 7 a.m.