UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera called out Dominick Cruz following his win over Davey Grant at UFC Vegas 29, saying “it makes sense.”
Vera won a unanimous decision over Grant in their rematch which was the “Fight of the Night” at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 29 event. After a strong start for Grant in the first round, Vera really started to take control of the fight as it went along, cutting Grant with elbows and then smashing him on the ground with punches. Grant proved tough enough to make it the full 15 minutes, but Vera won a lopsided decision when the judges’ scorecards were revealed. It was a big win for Vera to bounce back after losing to Jose Aldo in his last fight.
Following his win over Grant, Vera used his post-fight interview as an opportunity to call out Cruz, the former UFC bantamweight champion who actually called the Vera vs. Grant fight. During the broadcast, Cruz said that he was looking to fight someone higher in the rankings. But as far as Vera is concerned, this is a fight that makes sense, and as he told the media at the post-fight press conference, Vera is willing to fight Cruz if he wants it.
“I would like the fight with Cruz. It’s not like I’m dying for the fight, but I think it makes sense. But anybody in that top-10 to top-5, I would love to fight,” Vera said.
When it was brought to his attention that Cruz wants to fight someone ranked higher, Vera said that he respects his opponent, but if the UFC wants the fight then they will book it.
“I respect him for that, but the UFC might call him for the fight. They called him before after my fight with Song Yadong and I believe he declined it,” Vera said.
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