UFC on ESPN: Vera vs Cruz

UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Cruz (also known as UFC on ESPN 41) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 13, 2022, at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California, United States.

## Background

A bantamweight bout between Marlon Vera and former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion (also former WEC Bantamweight Champion) Dominick Cruz headlined the event.

Viviane Araújo was expected to face Alexa Grasso in a women's flyweight bout. The pair was previously scheduled to meet at UFC 270, but Araújo was forced to pull out from the event due to injury. In turn, Grasso pulled out due to visa issues and the bout was scrapped.

A women's strawweight bout between Yazmin Jauregui and Istela Nunes was expected to take place at the event. However, Nunes withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Iasmin Lucindo.

Cynthia Calvillo and Nina Nunes were previously scheduled to meet in a women's flyweight bout at UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev. In turn, Nunes fell ill on the day of that event and the bout was postponed to this date.

A flyweight bout between Malcolm Gordon and Allan Nascimento was expected to take place at this event. However, Gordon pulled out in late July due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was scrapped.

A women's bantamweight bout featuring Aspen Ladd and 2004 Olympic silver medalist in wrestling and former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger Sara McMann was expected to take place at the event. They were supposed to fight at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker in June 2020, but Ladd was forced to withdraw from that event after tearing both her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) in training. The pairing was once again scrapped as Ladd tested positive for COVID-19 this time. They were rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song on September 17.

A bantamweight bout between Youssef Zalal and Cristian Quiñonez was expected to take the event. However, Quiñonez was pulled from the fight due to alleged visa issues which restricted his travel and was replaced by Da'Mon Blackshear.

A welterweight bout between Jason Witt and Josh Quinlan was expected to take place one week prior at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill, but it was moved to this event after Quinlan was pulled for an atypical drug finding: long-term metabolite (or M3 metabolite) of the steroid dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) in his urine sample. They met in a catchweight of 180 pounds.

Former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion Ariane Lipski and Priscila Cachoeira were previously scheduled to meet in a flyweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré, but the fight was cancelled after Cachoeira was suspended due to use of a diuretic. They were then expected to meet at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill, but after Lipski missed weight and was not medically cleared, they were rescheduled for this event in a bantamweight bout.

## Results

The following fighters received $50,000 bonus

* Fight of the Night: Nate Landwehr vs David Onama
* Performance of the Night: Marlon Vera & Tyson Nam

## Reported Payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC). It is important to note the amounts do not include sponsor money, discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings. The total disclosed payout for the event was $1,708,000.

* Marlon Vera: $300,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus) def. Dominick Cruz: $175,000
* Nate Landwehr: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. David Onama: $24,000
* Yazmin Jauregui: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Iasmin Lucindo: $12,000
* Azamat Murzakanov: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Devin Clark: $75,000
* Priscila Cachoeira: $80,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus) def. Ariane Lipski: $40,000
* Gerald Meerschaert: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus) def. Bruno Silva: $40,000
* Angela Hill: $190,000 (includes $95,000 win bonus) def. Lupita Godinez: $45,000
* Martin Buday: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Łukasz Brzeski: $10,000
* Nina Nunes: $80,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus) def. Cynthia Calvillo: $70,000
* Gabriel Benítez: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus) def. Charlie Ontiveros: $12,000
* Tyson Nam: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Ode' Osbourne: $28,000
* Josh Quinlan: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Jason Witt: $23,000
* Da'Mon Blackshear: $12,000 vs. Youssef Zalal: $24,000

## Post-Match Results and Facts

* Marlon Vera's 12 victories in the UFC bantamweight division are tied with Aljamain Sterling for second-most in divisional history, behind T.J. Dillashaw (13)
* Vera's 10 stoppage victories in the UFC bantamweight division are the most in divisional history.
* Vera's 6 knockout victories in the UFC bantamweight division are the 2nd most in divisional history behind T.J. Dillashaw (7)
* Vera's 3 knockout victories stemming from head kicks are the most in UFC Bantamweight history
* Vera's 10 takedowns landed in the UFC bantamweight division are tied with Petr Yan for the most in divisional history
* Vera became the second fighter in UFC history to score 3 knockdowns in back-to-back fights. Conor McGregor also accomplished this.
* Vera became the 6th fighter in UFC history to have 2 performances with three or more knockdowns landed. Conor McGregor, Donald Cerrone, Anderson Silva, John Lineker & Israel Adesanya accomplished this.
* Vera's 6 fight-night bonuses in the UFC bantamweight division are tied with Sean O'Malley for the 3rd most in divisional history behind T.J. Dillashaw (8) & Pedro Munhoz (7)
* Dominick Cruz's 55 takedowns landed in UFC/WEC bantamweight divisions are the most in combined divisional history.
* Gerald Meerschaert's 10 stoppage victories in the UFC middleweight division is the second-most in divisional history behind Anderson Silva (11)
* Meerschaert's 9 submission victories in the UFC middleweight division is the most in divisional history, as well as, tied for fourth in UFC history behind Charles Oliveira (16), Demian Maia & Jim Miller (11)
* Martin Buday's -52 significant strike differential (66 vs 118) mark is the largest negative differential for a fighter who won by decision in the UFC heavyweight division.