UFC San Diego: Five Things We Learned
Aside from the main event, UFC San Diego was not stacked with a lot of name value. However, that did not prevent this card from being highly entertaining. This card saw seven of the 13 fights end via finish, six of which were by knockout or technical knockout. The finishes were headlined by Marlon Vera’s head kick knockout against Dominick Cruz. Out of the decisions, we saw two fights that deserved fight of the fight honors. More importantly, there are big lessons to take away from this fight card.
1. Marlon Vera Made A Statement
Marlon Vera made a statement at UFC San Diego as he knocked Dominick Cruz out cold in the fourth round. He solidified himself as one of the most dangerous fighters in a lethal bantamweight division. At a minimum, Vera will be fighting an opponent ranked in the top five in his next bout. The bantamweight division currently has a lot of fights scheduled over the two months. That includes UFC 280 which features a bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw along with a Sean O’Malley and Petr Yan matchup. Other important fights include Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen vs Song Yadong. At the end of the day, Vera’s future is not clear; however, he made a statement that will ensure he stays at the top of the division.
2. Father Time Came For Dominick Cruz
Dominick Cruz did a lot of good things in this fight with Vera. He fought with a high volume and landed a lot of good shots. He secured a couple of takedowns too. Entering round four, he was up two rounds to one on the judges’ scorecards. The only issue is, father time has caught up with Cruz. The head kick that put him to sleep probably puts most fighters out, so I will not judge him for that. However, he landed several knockdowns in this fight. It seemed like every time Vera landed, Cruz was hurt. Cruz’s chin did him no favor in this fight. Meanwhile, Cruz’s punches held no power of their own. This is nothing new, as Cruz is not known as a power puncher, but his shots held less power than they usually do. While Cruz may still have the skills to fight at an elite level, he no longer holds certain physical abilities. Father time remains undefeated.
3. Yazmin Jauregui And Iasmin Lucindo Are UFC Caliber
This was a large talking point in our UFC San Diego preview, but it is uncommon to see two unranked straw weights make their debut on the main card. Despite that, Yazmin Jauregui and Iasmin Lucindo took advantage of the opportunity. First off, these two went to war. They had fight of the night in the bag until Nate Landwehr and David Onama put on a fight of the year contender. Jauregui was the one that walked away with a win as she was able to constantly land heavy shots, but Lucindo fought well and proved to be UFC caliber too. At this point, it seems like Jauregui and Lucindo will both have lengthy UFC careers.
4. Azamat Murzakanov Lived Up To The Hype
This was Azamat Murzakanov’s second UFC bout and first bout since I listed him as the best prospect in the UFC light heavyweight division. At UFC San Diego, he lived up to that status. Aside from a lone head kick from Devin Clark, Murzakanov controlled the entire fight. He was able to control the octagon as he pushed Clark back to the fence while he landed powerful punches. Murzakanov’s power is nothing to sneeze at. It seemed like Clark was affected by every punch that Murzakanov landed. This was evident when Murzakanov smoked Clark with a body shot in round three that finished the fight. Clark is certainly Murzakanov’s biggest test to date, and he passed with flying colors.
5. Do Not Count Out Angela Hill
This one may be direct towards myself, but everyone else can learn from my mistake. In UFC San Diego Best Bets, I picked Lupita Godinez to beat Angela Hill by decision. In the fight, Hill proved that she is still an elite fighter in the strawweight division. She was able to outland Godinez in rounds two and three by using her quick hands and great kicks. She was even taken down once, but was able to return to her feet rather quickly. This is the best we have seen Hill look in a UFC octagon in a significant period of time.
