UFC San Diego 2022 results and recap: Marlon Vera takes out former champ Dominick Cruz with 4th round KO
Vera extends the bantamweight record
Top contender bantamweight, No. 5 Vera and former champion, No. 8 Cruz proved that styles make the difference.
Cruz used his unique footwork to land punches in volume while Vera stayed calm and countered with hard punches.
In the fourth round, Cruz was arguably ahead when Vera stopped a perfect headbutt that earned him a KO win. With this result, Vera extended the record for most bantamweight finishes.
After the fight, Vera said: “Coach told me: ‘Throw a bomb at your punches and you will find him’. Thank you Coach, I love you. I came into this sport to be a world champion.
“I have the heart, I have the work ethic, and now I have the people to get me there. I think it’s all about performance. Whoever has the best finish, the flashiest, gets the title shot. I’ll keep working… and Ecuador, I’ll be a champion.”
Landwehr is in the fight of the night
In the Fight of the Night, featherweights Landwehr and Onama delivered fireworks over all three rounds.
Momentum swung back and forth as they both battled non-stop for knockouts and submissions. After the final gong, the judges’ scorecards gave the Landwehr a majority decision victory.
After the decision win, Landwehr said, “I just showed up. Nate ‘The Train’ in the UFC, I’m the roughest, toughest, most stubborn mom, and I’m pretty good at fighting too, baby! I’m the worst man in of the Division!”
Other main card action
Two of the youngest fighters on the UFC roster put on a show in their Octagon debuts as 23-year-old Yazmin Jauregui scored a unanimous decision victory over 20-year-old Iasmin Lucindo in a hard-hitting strawweight three-way fight.
Priscila “Zombie Girl” Cachoeira and Ariane Lipski were rebooked at bantamweight a week later than originally planned, and both came out eager to slug it out. Cachoeira landed hard, dropping Lipski and winning the fight by TKO in just one minute and five seconds.
In the opening match of the main card, veteran Gerald Meerschaert choked Bruno Silva for a third-round submission win in a middleweight fight, while Azamat Murzakanov also claimed a third-round stop on Devin Clark in a light heavyweight fight.
Prelims promotion
Angela Hill, Martin Buday and Nina Nunes claimed decision victories while the event opening match between Youssef Zalal and Da’Mon Blackshear ended in a majority draw. Gabriel Benitez, Nam and Josh Quinlan also picked up stoppage wins in their respective bouts.
UFC San Diego 2022 Results
main card
1st Bantamweight Fight:
Marlon Vera KO’d Dominick Cruz 2:17 in the fourth round
2. Featherweight Fight:
Nate Landwehr def. David Onama by majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)
3. Women’s Strawweight Fight:
Yazmin Jauregui def. Iasmin Lucindo by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
4. Light Heavyweight Fight:
Azamat Murzakanov defeated Devin Clark via TKO (Strikes) 1:18 in the third round
5. Women’s Bantamweight Fight:
Priscila Cachoeira defeated Ariane Lipski via TKO (strikes) at 1:05 of the first round
6. Middleweight Fight:
Gerald Meerschaert defeated Bruno Silva via submission (guillotine choke) 1:39 in the third round
Provisional Map
1. Catch weight (120 lb) fight:
Angela Hill def. Loopy Godinez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2. Heavyweight Fight:
Martin Buday defeated Lukasz Brzeski by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
3. Women’s Flyweight Fight:
Nina Nunes def. Cynthia Calvillo by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
4. Easy fight:
Gabriel Benitez defeated Charlie Ontiveros via TKO (Strikes) at 3:35 of the first round
5. Flyweight Fight:
Tyson Nam defeated Ode’ Osbourne via KO at 2:59 of the first round
6. Catch Weight (180lb) Fight:
Josh Quinlan KO’d Jason Witt at 2:09 of the first round
7. Bantamweight Fight:
Youssef Zalal and Da’Mon Blackshear (29-28) fight for a majority tie (28-28, 28-28)