On August 13, San Diego’s Pechanga Arena will be hosting a UFC Fight Night event. Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera (19-7-1) will be taking on the best bantamweight of all time, Dominick Cruz (24-3), in the main event of that card. This fight will give an opportunity to both men to prove they deserve a title contender fight.
Fighters’ Previous Fights Performance
Marlon Vera is currently on a 3-fight winning streak, with his last fight being a 5-round war against Rob Font, in which he came out victorious via unanimous decision. Dom Cruz is coming off a big decision win against Pedro Munhoz last December.
Vera vs. Cruz Betting Analysis
Chito Vera Analysis
Chito Vera has made some serious strides in the UFC bantamweight division as of late. When you see a Vera fight on the UFC schedule, it is now must-see television. He has this way about him where he always gets into exciting fights.
Chito is very good at absorbing shots and then coming forward with more devastating strikes than what he is getting hit with.
Vera’s First Main Event
This is Vera’s first main event in front of an arena crowd, which might be something to keep an eye on during fight week and how he looks making that walk on Saturday night.
Cruz has a lot more experience in these big, 5-round fights, and that might be a big disadvantage for Chito going into this one.
Dom Cruz Analysis
Cruz, the man who is widely considered the best bantamweight fighter of all time, is looking to claw his way back into title contention.
With a career that has been held back due to injuries, he still finds himself one fight away from being a top contender in this division. This just proves how great of a mixed martial artist he is.
Cruz as the Underdog
MMA odds aren’t used to showing Cruz as an underdog too many times, but he has proved to win as one a few times in his career. Cruz took down TJ Dillashaw, Pedro Munhoz, and even Joe Benevidez as the underdog in his career.
With the injuries and being in his late 30s, oddsmakers seem to not believe in his fighting abilities at this level right now.
It will be very interesting to see how Cruz holds up in a fight against someone as durable and damaging as Chito Vera.
UFC Rivals
- Vera has had a lot of harsh words to say about the legend Cruz during the lead-up to this bout.
- Cruz responds to Chito Vera’s fight ducking claims: “I don’t know where he’s getting this idea…”
Vera vs. Cruz Betting Preview
According to UFC odds, Chito Vera is the betting favorite at -210 leading up to this main event bout against Dominick Cruz. Cruz is at +180 as the underdog against the younger fighter.
The age and injuries will have to be the main reason we see Cruz as the underdog, but as he has shown in his last two fights, he still has plenty left in the tank to push for a title shot.
Marlon Vera Analysis
Marlon Vera is a very durable fighter. He has made his name by wanting to fight anyone, anywhere, and seems to take a beating but still come out victorious in the octagon.
He seems to have a lot of emotion in the fight game, and he really thrives off that energy, in my opinion. He is usually the one that plays that ‘underdog’ role, so this is going to be interesting to see how he handles this big opportunity against one of the all-time greats.
Dominick Cruz Analysis
Look for this fight to be very exciting. Dominick Cruz has one of the best MMA minds in the game and will undoubtedly come into this with a great game plan.
Marlon Vera is much more durable than Cruz, and I don’t think he will be in any danger of getting knocked out by Cruz. Prop bets and method of victory bets will be tough to predict for this matchup of two elite fighters.
Vera vs. Cruz Betting Predictions
Making UFC picks based on Vera vs. Cruz Betting predictions can be very challenging. The number of factors that go into these fights can sometimes fog up your thinking process of making picks.
To break down this matchup, let’s look at how each of them could come out as the winner on Saturday night.
Vera has the power to finish Cruz. That power, along with the unhuman-like durability that he possesses in the octagon, will make it a tough night for Cruz.
Who to Bet On?
Dominick Cruz has so much experience, great wrestling, and elite movement. I believe that if anybody can beat Chito Vera, it is Dom Cruz.
My prediction is Dominick Cruz will take the first two rounds with his footwork and win on points. Then he will have to dig out a championship-style 5th round to edge out Vera on the judge’s scorecards.
I see Cruz landing a big takedown or two in the 5th round to seal the deal and get the big win he was looking for at the end of his career.
UFC Pick: Dominick Cruz to win (+180)
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