Marlon Vera  legitimate UFC

Marlon Vera picked up his signature win this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 41.

Vera was in a highly competitive fight with former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in the main

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Vera was in a highly competitive fight with former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in the main

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But almost out of nowhere, Vera found an opening and landed a left kick to Cruz’s face

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that put the ex-champ on the canvas and knocked out for just the second time in his career.

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The 29-year-old Vera now has knockout wins over Cruz and another former champ, Frankie Edgar,

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as part of his four-fight winning streak, and also has a TKO win over Sean O’Malley on his resume.

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He’s now No. 5 in the UFC’s official bantamweight rankings.

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So is it time for the MMA world to take Vera seriously as a bantamweight title contender?

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