What is essentially a UFC bantamweight tournament began on Saturday night with Marlon Vera making an unscheduled and unwanted adjustment to the shape of Dominick Cruz’s nose via a head kick in the fourth round of their UFC San Diego main event.
The victory earned Vera his fourth straight win and fourth consecutive post-fight bonus. He now gets to sit and watch as the upcoming bouts between Merab Dvalishvili and Jose Aldo at UFC 278 and the pair of 135-pound fights at UFC 280 — champion Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley — shake out before he knows his next assignment.