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Marlon Vera believes he could be on a collision course with Dominick Cruz if Petr Yan declines his call-out. 'Chito' recently suggested that the UFC reach out to Cruz since the former bantamweight king is looking for higher-ranked opponents.
Vera is eyeing a clash against Cruz at UFC Fight Night on August 13 where he plans to retire the former champ. Issuing a callout to 'Dominator', 'Chito' wrote on Twitter:
"@DominickCruz you better pick up the phone, august 13 I retire you!"
Check out the tweet below:
Taking a jibe at Cruz's nickname, the 29-year-old wrote in a follow-up tweet:
"UFC reach out to duckminator after Petr declines august 13th main event. True history"
Check out the post below:
Vera's callout comes after Cruz recently named the ideal match-ups he is eyeing among the bantamweight top dogs. 'Chito' was missing from the former champ's list, which included names like Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili. 'Dominator' also teased a rematch against Henry Cejudo, who is eyeing a return to the octagon.
All the opponents on Cruz's list stand higher on the bantamweight ladder than the number five-ranked Vera barring Dvalishvili, who stands right below 'Chito'. 'Dominator' meanwhile has climbed to the eighth spot with back-to-back decision wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz.
Marlon Vera accused Dominick Cruz of ducking him due to lower ranking
Marlon Vera is currently riding a three-fight winning streak topped off by an upset victory over Rob Font at UFC Vegas 53. Vera jumped three spots to climb to No.5 on the bantamweight ladder with his win over the New England Cartel's best.
'Chito' later called out Dominick Cruz as he finally surpassed the former champ in the rankings. Vera also accused Cruz of using his lower rank as an excuse to duck him in the past. The 29-year-old told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour :
“Before in the ten times he declined to fight me, I’m not calling him a p*ssy, but he declined a couple of times in the past. He always talking about how he wants to fight someone above him. Guess what, I’m above you right now motherf*cker, so now we can go. Now we can go.”
Watch Vera's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
