Marlon Vera made the most out of his bantamweight clash with veteran Frankie Saenz earlier tonight (Sat., Mar. 23, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 6 live on ESPN+ from inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, when he finished the former collegiate wrestler via first-round TKO.
Vera tried to move around early and avoid any type of clinch with Saenz. ”Chito” did well to create space and wait for his moment, which came in the form of a stiff jab that stopped Saenz in his tracks. Vera pounced on top and quickly landed vicious ground-and-pound — some of which may have been to the back of the head — until the referee stepped in for the stoppage.
Check out the highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
With this performance, Vera locks down his third-straight Octagon finish and proves that he’s ready for a stiffer test at 135 pounds. Vera did call out rising English prospect Nathaniel Wood, who has finished all of his three UFC appearances via submission, so maybe that’s a fight the promotion will target in the coming months.
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