Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz stats: Did the American out-strike 'Chito' at UFC San Diego?

Despite Dominick Cruz losing via knockout in the fourth round of his bout against Marlon Vera at UFC San Diego last night, the American out-landed 'Chito' on both total and significant strikes.

Cruz managed to land 92 significant strikes against Vera, with a total of 100 of his 259 strikes landing. These striking stats are considerably better than Ecuadorian's, with 'Chito' landing just 63 strikes in total, but a staggering 61 of these were deemed significant by UFC Stats.

Dominick Cruz also attempted to dominate on the ground, with the American landing 2 out of 7 takedown attempts and having a control time of 65 seconds. But none of these attempts helped the former champion during the fight, with Vera knocking his opponent down three times.

Marlon Vera had just 10 seconds of control time on the ground, but didn't attempt a single takedown during the bout, clearly favoring his striking ability against Cruz. The Ecuador-born fighter won via a spectacular head kick in round four, which instantly ended the bout.

When looking at the stats, it's clear to see that Dominick Cruz can be proud of his efforts despite losing to Vera. However, the loss does mean that the American will likely have a long road back to the belt if he is aiming to get potentially one last title shot.

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What's next for Marlon Vera after beating Dominick Cruz?

After beating Dominick Cruz at UFC San Diego last night, Marlon 'Chito' Vera made his future title intentions clear but also didn't seem in too much of a hurry for his title shot.

While speaking to Daniel Cormier during his post-fight octagon interview, 'Chito' stated that he will one day become a UFC champion and seemingly believes he isn't too far away from getting a title shot:

"I came to this sport to be a world champion. I have the heart, I have the work ethic, I now have the people that will get me there."

Marlon Vera went on to say that he believes the bantamweight with the best performance in their recent bouts, will be the fighter who gets the next title shot:

"Whatever happens in those fights, I believe it's all about performance, whoever has the best finish, the flashiest one, will get a title shot. At the end of the day, those we cannot control, so I'm not tripping, I will keep working, I will keep kick asses and Ecuador, I'm gonna be a world champion."

Watch the full interview here:

The bantamweight title is currently held by Aljamain Sterling, who will take on TJ Dillashaw in his next outing. It's clear that Vera would be keen to fight the winner of that bout, but isn't too concerned about having to wait.