Put the names of the combatants in the main event together and you get an underrated destination spot in eastern Mexico. However, on Saturday the fighters won’t be thinking of a vacation when UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Cruz takes place in San Diego. A bantamweight tussle between top-10 contenders Marlon Vera and Dominick Cruz headlines the supercharged 13-fight ticket from Pechanga Arena and fighters will have a hard time duplicating last week’s results when every bout finished within the distance. Don’t expect the co-main event featherweight fight between Nate Landwehr and David Onama to reach the scorecards since both are submission specialists.
The action inside the Octagon will be fierce with 13 scheduled bouts making up the fight card on Saturday, August 13 from Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Preliminary round matches are slated to start at 4:30 p.m. ET with the main card set for 7 p.m. ET. Every fight can be seen on ESPN and ESPN+. Wagering options for every bout are available at BookMaker.eu when you’re ready to place a wager.
UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Cruz Odds
Main Card
Dominick Cruz +194 vs. Marlon Vera -250
Nate Landwehr +238 vs. David Onama -315
Iasmin Lucindo +158 vs. Yazmin Jauregui -200
Devin Clark +117 vs. Azamat Murzakanov -147
Gerald Meerschaert +238 vs. Bruno Silva -315
Cruz (24-3) looks to continue his quest for another shot at the title fighting as the underdog in his fourth fight since a nearly four-year hiatus. The former two-time bantamweight champ went silent after losing the strap to Cody Garbrandt in late 2016, his first setback in nearly 10 years. He resurfaced in May 2020 losing a title fight by TKO to Henry Cejudo. Consecutive losses and advanced age had many thinking Cruz was near the end of his run as one of the top fighters in UFC. However, he returned to the winner’s circle in 2021 with a split decision over Casey Kenney despite getting knocked down twice in the first round. Three straight convincing wins moved Vera (19-7) up the list of contenders putting him likely a win away from a shot at the title. With age comes wisdom, as they say. If that’s the case Cruz has a good shot in this battle even though he’s a considerable underdog. That hasn’t happened much in his career since he ruled the division for years with his only losses coming in championship bouts. Cruz is still one of the most agile fighters and will use his strong wrestling skills to counter Vera’s attack.
UFC Prediction: Dominick Cruz +194 / Decision
Onama (10-1) is a big -315 favorite in his co-main event featherweight bout with Landwehr (15-4). With a pair of stoppage wins already this year, Onama sent notice to everyone in the division that he’s a force. Most recently he collected a second-round submission of Garret Armfield that followed a first-round TKO of Gabriel Benitez. Those impressive wins came after Onama suffered his first pro defeat in a unanimous decision to Mason Jones in his promotional debut, the only one of his 11 fights to go the distance. Moving to UFC after winning and twice defending the M-1 featherweight belt, Landwehr split his first four fights inside the Octagon most recently stopping Ludovit Klein with a choke last October. This bout is unlikely to go the distance with a pair of fighters known for finishing opponents.
UFC Prediction: David Onama -315 / (T)KO
The rest of the main card features some intriguing matchups. Few have been around longer than Gerald Meerschaert (34-15) and fewer have more submission wins. Meerschaert is a big +238 favorite in his middleweight fight with Bruno Silva (22-7). Eight of Meerschaert’s nine UFC wins have been by sub and sources count 26 of his career wins by submission.
UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Cruz Odds
Prelims
Priscila Cachoeira +158 vs. Ariane Lipski -200
Angela Hill +244 vs. Lupita Godinez -325
Lukasz Brzeski +211 vs. Martin Buday -275
Nina Nunes +139 vs. Cynthia Calvillo -175
Charlie Ontiveros +277 vs. Gabriel Benitez -375
Tyson Nam +197 vs. Ode Osbourne -255
Jason Witt +210 vs. Josh Quinlan -260
DaMon Blackshear -102 vs. Youssef Zalal -128 Heavyweights always seem to dominate the headlines and we have a good one between recent UFC newcomers Lukasz Brzeski (8-1-1) and Martin Buday (10-1). Brzeski won his debut inside the Octagon with a technical decision over Chris Barnett extending his overall winning streak to nine. At 6-4 and over 260 pounds he’s an imposing figure and surprisingly nimble with eight of his wins coming by stoppage. There are some heavy favorites on this care as well. Gabriel Benitez (22-11) is -375 on the moneyline in his lightweight scrap with Charlie Ontiveros (11-8). A late add to the card has Lupita Godinez (8-2) heavily favored at -325 in a 120-pouind catchweight fight with Angela Hill (13-12).
