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Marlon Vera will attempt to solidify his spot as the next possible contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight title picture if he can score a win over Cory Sandhagen this Saturday (March 25, 2023) in the main event of UFC San Antonio.

Before then, let’s take a trip down Memory Lane to see “Chito’s” last win, which came at the expense of former 135-pound champion, Dominick Cruz, in Aug. 2022. Vera came out aggressive in round one, dropping “The Dominator” early to make things interesting.
The rest of the fight was competitive, with Cruz using his legendary footwork to get in and out, all the while Vera was doing a lot of stalking. In round four, however, Vera caught Cruz with a vicious kick to the nose as the former champ was ducking and trying to slide away.
Vera got enough of what he needed and sent Cruz crashing to the canvas and followed it up with another three strikes, though Cruz was pretty much out before he hit the canvas. The victory gave Vera (No. 3) his fourth straight and will now look to climb the ladder by earning his first five-fight win streak inside the Octagon.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC San Antonio fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC San Antonio news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Vera vs. Sandhagen” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ line up click here.

According to Cody Garbrandt, a rematch against former longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, could be in the works for an event planned for sometime in July.
During a recent chat with MMA Junkie Radio, “No Love” hinted at the possibility of running it back with “The Dominator” when discussing their original fight that took place almost seven years ago.
“It was a good fight, man – he’s (Dominick Cruz) a legend of the sport,” Cody Garbrandt said as transcribed by MMA News. “It was a great night for me to fight such a masterclass performance against one of the greatest bantamweights to ever do it. And it was great, you know? He’s still out here plugging along and doing his thing. It’s funny, Ali (Abdelaziz) hit me up the other day and was like, ‘Hey, would you like to do a Dominick Cruz rematch in July?’”

At the time of their first fight at UFC 207 in Dec. 2016, Cruz was the reigning champion riding a 13-fight win streak including three title defenses. Garbrandt, on the other hand, was scorching hot as an undefeated (11-0) contender, including winning his first five fights inside the Octagon, four via knockout.
After 25 minutes of back-and-forth action, Garbrandt was declared the winner via unanimous decision (see it here), ending Cruz’s lengthy reign as champion while handing him his first loss in nearly a decade.
Interestingly enough, their respective careers took drastic turns after that fight, with Garbrandt losing three in a row including back-to-back losses to TJ Dillashaw. In fact, “No Love” has only been able to muster up a 2-5 record since defeating Cruz, and was last seen getting back in the win column by defeating Trevin Jones at UFC 285.
As for Cruz, he sat out nearly 3.5 years after his loss to Garbrandt due to extensive injuries. When he returned, he faced Henry Cejudo for the 135-pound belt and lost via second-round technical knockout (TKO).
“The Dominator” bounced back with two straight wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz, but was last seen getting knocked out by Marlon Vera in Aug. 2022.

According to “No Love,” he holds no ill will toward Cruz despite their history, but is confident in his chances should they get the chance to run it back.
“I’ve got nothing against Dominick, I have a lot of respect for him – not that I didn’t prior to us fighting,” Cody Garbrandt explained. “I have a lot of respect for him you know, and understanding of him. “We’ve had a lot of conversations. We run into each other – I mean, that night was just my night. I feel like any night against Dominick Cruz will be my night, for sure.”
Are you interested in a potential rematch between those two former Bantamweight champions?

Welcome to Midnight Mania!
I don’t think anyone believes the current rules and regulations for MMA are perfect.
Some rules make great sense and help keep the sport, well, a sport rather than an assault charge. “No Biting,” for example, is widely considered a good idea. Some rules face far more criticism, like the 12-6 elbow rule that dictates that an elbow cannot be thrown at a perfect vertical angle. Legend has it that the rule was put into place back in the day due to old Karate videos of men breaking bricks with that technique, and thirty years later, it’s still in place despite there being little evidence this kind of elbow is more impactful than any other.
Then, there’s style choices. Should knees to a grounded opponent be legal? One Championship says yes, and many fight fans are thrilled to relive great PRIDE FC-type moments. It’s a gray area!
Strikes to the back of the head, also known as rabbit punches, are the first category. The reasoning here is that shots directly to the back of the head carry an increased risk of doing damage to the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord. In fact, any shot that directly targets the spinal cord is illegal in MMA, because athletes getting paralyzed and potentially killed is BAD! The well-known example in boxing is that of Prichard Colon, who in 2015 fell into a coma and found himself in a vegetative state after absorbing several blows to the back of the head against Terrel Williams.
In short, strikes to the back of the head are bad news. In his latest wild comment this week, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan argues they should be legalized, since they happen incidentally anyway. Talking with Jorge Masvidal, the conversation moved from the normal realm of legalizing grounded knees to the weird and wild concept of permissible back of the head shots.
“I don’t even know that we should stop hitting people in the back of the head,” Rogan argued. “It doesn’t make any sense to me because a lot of knockouts, like high kicks, wrap around the back of the shoulder and they go right to the back of your head. And it’s legal.”
When guest Jorge Masvidal pointed out that back of the head shots are common in fight-finishing exchanges, Rogan continued, “In wild exchanges and scrambles, like Ciryl Gane and Junior dos Santos. He kind of hit him with an elbow in the back of the head. It’s like, it should be legal. I don’t understand why it’s not legal. People say you’re more vulnerable there, well, don’t get f—king hit there.
Eddie Bravo’s talked about this all the time, the old days of MMA, When a guy got someone’s back, they would just drop elbows down on his head, back of the head. If they have your back and the head is there, all this punching just to the side is not realistic.”
I’ve been in quite a few backstage rules meetings over the years, so aside from again mentioning that this is an insane line of reasoning, I’d like to clarify how referees determine whether a shot to the back of the head is a foul. As Rogan accurately mentioned, a kick is allowed to wrap around the side of the head, touch an illegal area, and still be considered fair game. MMA is chaotic, and when both men are moving, it’s considered part of the game.
Referees take issue when there’s control involved. In the clinch or on the canvas, for example, fighters must be careful with where their shots are landing. When there’s little movement involved, leniency is removed from the equation. If a fighter gets rocked and turns away, the attacking fighter still has an obligation to angle their shots and avoided blasting the brain stem.
Do back of the head shots sometimes happen in fight-finishing exchanges? Definitely, and occasionally it’s allowed to a troubling degree. Still, that’s not an argument for making them more common, which could result in devastating outcomes for athletes and the sport.

Insomnia
Rafael dos Anjos is 38 years old, has fought some of the best ever, and wants seven more UFC fights. Legend!

I’m looking to finish my contact with Ufc, 7 more fights at 170. After that I’m planing to open a gym and teach martial arts. Martial arts changed my life and I’m looking forward to change other people’s life— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) March 24, 2023

Can Khusein Askhabov recover from his first pro loss to Jamall Emmers? David Onama has thunder in his hands, so it’ll be a real interesting challenge.

It’s a family affair.

Related: Marlon Vera is a savage.

Leon Edwards’ last two fights with Kamaru Usman have created a pretty iconic pair of moments.

Speaking of Usman, TUF winner Mohammed Usman finally has a second fight booked.

This picture draws attention to the fact that Drew Dober is a DENSE Lightweight.

If Jiri Prochazka sparred like he fights, he would be knocking out partners left and right. That’s bad for everyone.

People take training so seriously….. I watched Buckley beat curt in the gym which is why Buckley wanted the fight and then they fight and curt clowns him…..— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) March 24, 2023

I didn’t realize Cory Sandhagen’s back tattoo was so religious, but regardless, it still goes pretty hard!

Slips, rips, and KO clips
I feel like it’s fairly uncommon to see a distance kicker also move his head so efficiently.

Amri Madani is an early 2000’s savate tireur who was so incredibly wiry. This dudes kicks are so weird looking because of just how long his legs are. Pretty interesting. pic.twitter.com/pjqJdpKZH5— Blaine Henry (@BlaineHenryTFL) March 24, 2023

Shin draped along the side of the head is going to cause a nap.

Peter Aerts scores another skull crushing headkick knockout, this time over former WKA & IBF champion James Warring.BRUTAL KO pic.twitter.com/TXgrCb2LMG— Cerebral Vigilante (@Delisketo) March 24, 2023

Random Land
Some weird s—t.

Midnight Music: The new Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA project Scaring The Hoes dropped, and it’s as lyrically dense and musically chaotic as I hoped.
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Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

One of the worst stoppages in recent mixed martial arts (MMA) history occurred tonight (Fri., March 24, 2023) inside the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas during Fury FC 76. In the main event, former Dana White Contender Series (DWCS) veteran Edgar Chairez took on Gianni Vazquez.

In the fourth round, after a very competitive fight up to that point, Chairez locked up a tight triangle choke, and what followed was very disturbing and horrifying.
Vazquez went unconscious while locked in the triangle choke; however, Texas referee Frank Collazo missed it. While still unconscious, Chairez transitioned to an armbar and held it for 20 seconds until Vazquez woke up and tapped.
The victory was huge for Chairez was massive, but it was overshadowed by the evident incompetency of Collazo, who could have had Vazquez killed.
Twitter went nuts when the clip hit the internet.

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK. Never let that man be near any competition setting again — Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) March 25, 2023

You know it’s bad when the guy gets puts to sleep and wakes up and still in a bad arm bar the ref was scared to call it— Luis Martinez (@MartinezLuis209) March 25, 2023

This is not one of the worst this is the worst— Hendrix (@MMAHendrix) March 25, 2023

Steve Mazagatti is horrified by this display, ffs. Sweet Jesus.— Rian (@srcdc313) March 25, 2023

Been watching this shit a looooong time, I’ve witnessed two decades worth of late stoppages and this one may be the latest. Fuck. https://t.co/CfjW4FdL3N— Freddy Cringe Jr. (@KyleCobraIsMeh) March 25, 2023

How the fuck are there so many mma refs that look like they’re seeing jiu jitsu for the first time?!?— Vince Mancini (@VinceMancini) March 25, 2023

Thankfully, Vazquez appeared alright when he woke up and stood during the decision.

It was a good night for former UFC fighters.

Regional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Fury FC went down last night (Fri., Mar. 24, 2023) inside Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. Two former UFC fighters on the card were trying to get back to the big show, and they did a good job getting noticed.
First was Carlton Minus (13-5), who was in action against hot prospect Dimitre Ivy at Fury FC 76. After a very competitive first round, Minus slept Ivy 21 seconds into the second round and then had quite the celebration.

Minus, 29, went 0-2 in the UFC, losing to Matthew Semelsberger in his debut and then to Christos Giagos in 2020. Since his release from the UFC, he has gone 3-1 with three finishes.

Marcelo Rojo (17-9) was the other former UFC fighter in action against Angel Luis Cruz, and he got back into the win column in style after a brutal run in the UFC.
“Pitbull” bloodied Cruz with ground and pound and ended up finishing him. Usually, after his win, he does his famous velociraptor celebration, but instead, he climbed the cage and stayed there like a spider.

After his win during his post-fight interview, he pleaded with UFC matchmakers Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby, who were in attendance, to bring him back to the UFC and let him fight on the undercard of his teammate, best friend, and ‘idol’ Brandon Moreno – which is something he had asked for since before he got signed.

Rojo, 34, went 0-3 in the UFC, losing all three via finish. He was released after his knockout loss to Francis Marshall at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Holland (watch highlights).

For more regional MMA news and notes click here.

After eight straight weekends of action, the UFC finally ends its first quarter run with UFC San Antonio on Saturday. Headlined by a pivotal bantamweight matchup between Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen, the UFC is also offering up 11 other fights of varying degrees of importance. That’s a lot of potential bets so let’s get to it.
As always, all odds are courtesy of our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Straight Bets
Yana Santos, +210
There’s a fun mirroring going on in this fight. In her previous two bouts, Holm beat Irene Aldana and then lost to Ketlen Vieira, while Santos beat Vieira and then lost to Aldana. And while MMA Math is normally entirely useless, I think it is illustrative here of a fight that is pretty darn close. Holm is the better technical fighter, but to be frank, Holm has not looked good in years. She relies a lot on clinch physicality these days and her work rate has slowed dramatically, neither of which bodes all that well for someone pushing 42. On the other side of things, Santos has been out for two years, and was never an A+ fighter to begin with.
In the end, reasonable bettors may well look at this fight and say there are too many wildcards to place a bet, and I wouldn’t blame them — but this fight feels like it could go either way. At more than +200 on the odds, I’m OK with a shot.

Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images

Prop Bets
Marlon Vera by Decision, +600
I’ll talk a little more about this fight later, but this boils down to the fact that though “Chito” is widely hailed as a finisher, in two of his previous four bouts he’s won by decision. Cory Sandhagen is incredibly durable, and on-paper should outwork “Chito,” but Vera brings the more high-powered offense, so I can see this fight looking a lot like Vera vs. Rob Font. At these massive odds, I’m taking a flyer.
Manel Kape by Submission, +600
People think of Kape as a striking savant, and he is, but Kape has a sneaky aggressive ground game as well. Five of his 18 career wins have come by submission, and that number most likely would be up to six if David Dvorak hadn’t been saved by the bell when they two fought back in December. Add in that five of Perez’s seven career losses have come by tapout and this is another bet I’m going to take a flyer on.
Preston Parsons by Submission, +225
If you listened to No Bets Barred this week, you’ll know there’s a very specific reason I’m taking this bet; however, after looking into it, I do like the wager outright. Nine of Parsons’ 10 career victories have come by submission, while two of Giles’ four career losses have been by tap. Giles isn’t a terrible grappler, but I do think Parsons is superior on the floor and he’s a good enough wrestler to get the fight there, repeatedly if necessary.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Parlay of the Week
We’re going with the Pacifist Parlay this week, under the belief that all three of these fights are destined for deep waters.
Marlon Vera/Cory Sandhagen Over 2.5 Rounds, -300
In 28 career fights, “Chito” has never been stopped. In 19 career fights, Sandhagen has only been stopped once — the rear-naked choke loss to Aljamain Sterling. It’s exceedingly unlikely that Vera is going to score a quick submission here, and exceedingly likely that this fight heads into the championship rounds.
Holly Holm/Yana Santos Over 2.5 Rounds
Though eight of Holm’s 14 career wins are by stoppage, six of those came in her pre-UFC days. Aside from Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correira, Holm has gone to the cards with everyone else she’s beaten in the promotion and she’s hit this Over in 10 of her 13 UFC bouts. Santos, meanwhile, has not stopped anyone since 2016, and while she has been pretty knockout-able, I’m willing to bet that won’t happen against a 41-year-old who hasn’t finished anyone in six years.
Andrea Lee/Maycee Barber Over 2.5 Rounds
In 19 career fights, Lee has been finished just once, back in Invicta in 2016. In 13 career fights, Barber has never been finished, and she’s also gone to five decisions in a row inside the UFC. Like the main event, this is another one that seems destined to go long.
Parlay these three bets together for +149 odds.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Long Shot of the Week
Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen To Go To A Draw, +5000
This one is obviously pretty bold. +5000 is as big of a long shot as I’ve ever bet on, but can’t you just see it? As mentioned above, I have a strong belief that this fight goes long and that it’s Sandhagen’s volume vs. Vera’s power for much of the fight. That sort of dynamic is exactly the kind of thing that leads to one fighter losing three rounds but getting a 10-8 in one of the others. Add in that the judging has been a bit wonky lately, and we very nearly got a draw last weekend thanks to Herb Dean taking a point, and this feels imminently possible. Probable? Of course not. But still, dare to dream.

Wrap Up
Don’t look now, but that’s two plus-money weeks in a row! 2023 has been a tough year but we’re finally starting to build some momentum. Let’s try and cash out once again this week so we head into the off weekend on a high.
Until next week, enjoy the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!

All information in this article is provided to readers of MMA Fighting for entertainment, news, and amusement purposes only. It is the responsibility of the reader to learn and abide by online gambling laws in their region before placing any online sports betting wagers.

When it comes to his new UFC deal, Paulo Costa is very happy.
According to Costa’s manager Tamara Alves, the one-time middleweight title challenger is now set to make a seven-figure payday when he enters the octagon.
“Paulo went from being one of the most devalued athletes to one of the most valued athletes in the UFC,” Alves told Ag. Fight. “I have no doubt that Paulo is the highest-paid Brazilian athlete in the organization today. I don’t know if you know any Brazilian athlete that is paid more than a million dollars per fight. I don’t — especially in non-title fights.”

Costa took to social media numerous times over the past year to complain about his prior UFC deal and indicate that he was willing to leave the organization after completing the final bout he had remaining on his contract, however he ultimately re-signed.
Costa also told Ag. Fight he was initially offered $500,000 to show and $150,000 to win during the negotiations for a potential Robert Whittaker bout, but turned it down.
The Brazilian talent now has five contracted fights on his UFC deal, with his new four-fight contract adding to the one bout he had left from his previous contract. He indicated the company is working on potential clashes with Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev. “Borrachinha” defeated Luke Rockhold via decision in his most recent appearance.
“Paulo is a product that the UFC knows it sells,” Alves said. “Paulo’s pay-per-view with [Israel] Adesanya was the highest pay-per-view sale in the middleweight division. The UFC has those numbers. The UFC knows the numbers Paulo can reach.”

In the UFC’s first event following a storyline filled UFC 286 card, the promotion heads to Texas for UFC San Antonio, which will be headlined by a pivotal matchup in the bantamweight division between Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen. With the division in the state that it’s in currently, what is on the line for both guys ahead of the fan-friendly bout?
MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, José Youngs, and Alexander K. Lee break down the Vera vs. Sandhagen five-rounder and where each guy goes with a win, and if a title shot is in play for either. Additionally, they’ll discuss Holly Holm’s first fight of 2023 as she meets Yana Santos in the co-main event, Maycee Barber vs. Andrea Lee, and more ahead of Saturday’s event at the AT&T Center.
Catch the UFC San Antonio preview show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

There is apparently no love lost between Manel Kape and Alex Perez.
The two UFC flyweight contenders had to be separated during their official staredown at UFC San Antonio’s ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday ahead of their pivotal main-card bout. Once the two fighters went nose-to-nose, Kape incited a minor scuffle by aggressively putting his arm around Perez’s neck. After being pulled apart by security, Kape waved a finger in Perez’s face and accused his fellow 125-pounder of foul play.
“I know about your snitches,” Kape told Perez, ranting about alleged spies in his camp.
Kape and Perez compete in one of the six main-card bouts at Saturday’s UFC San Antonio event, which takes place at the AT&T Center. Watch their heated staredown below.

In the main event, top bantamweight contenders Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen collide in a five-round battle to inch the winner closer to title contention.
The duo had an intense yet respect faceoff on Friday. That clip can be watched below.

Catch the complete UFC San Antonio ceremonial weigh-ins and staredowns in the video at the top of the page.

MMA Fighting has Benavidez vs. Plant results for the David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on Saturday night.
In the main event, David Benavidez will square off against Caleb Plant for Benavidez’s interim WBC interim super middleweight title. The Benavidez vs. Plant main event is expected to start at 12 a.m. ET, and you can follow the Benavidez vs. Plant live round-by-round updates here.
David Benavidez (26-0) has reeled off three straight TKO wins, including a third-round knockout of David Lemieux for the vacant WBC interim super middleweight title this past May.
Caleb Plant (22-1) bounced back from his loss to Canelo Alvarez to knock out Anthony Dirrell in the ninth round in his last outing Oct. 15, 2022.
Check out Benavidez vs. Plant results below.
Main card (Showtime PPV at 9 p.m. ET)
David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant (live blog)
Chris Colbert vs. Jose Valenzuela
Jesus Ramos vs. Joseph Spencer
Cody Crowley vs Abel Ramos