Eric Nicksick called Marlon Vera’s knockout of Dominick Cruz down to a T.
Xtreme Couture coach Erick Nicksick accurately predicted Marlon Vera’s head kick knockout of Dominick Cruz moments before ‘Chito’ landed the KO in round four.
Nicksick watched the fight from home and noticed that Cruz, the former WEC and UFC bantamweight champion, tended to dip his head to the right with his hands down, leaving himself open for the counter.
The 2022 Coach of the Year nominee Tweeted that a left high kick from Vera would stop Cruz dead in his tracks, and lo and behold, Vera delivered.
The Ecuadorian fighter caught Cruz with a perfectly-timed head kick that sent ‘The Dominator’ crashing face-first into the canvas to mark his second knockout in four fights.
Dom tends to roll his head off to his right with his right hand down. Left kick by Chito would be a great answer to that. #UFCSanDiego @kaiboikamaka
— Eric Nicksick (@Eric_XCMMA) August 14, 2022
Like I said…. #UFCSanDiego https://t.co/jwDiA8NWLJ
— Eric Nicksick (@Eric_XCMMA) August 14, 2022
Vera’s power proved to be the difference maker in the fight as the 29-year-old dropped Cruz several times leading up to the KO, getting the better of his opponent in most of the exchanges despite landing with less volume.
The win saw Vera extend his winning streak to four straight fights, with the No. 5-ranked bantamweight a prime candidate to face the winner of Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw for the bantamweight title sometime next year.