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Facing Dominick Cruz in Cruz’s backyard, Vera made an emphatic statement at UFC on ESPN 41, as he knocked out the Alliance MMA stalwart with a head kick 2:17 into Round 4 of their headlining encounter at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif., on Saturday night. “Chito” has won four straight and 10 of his last 12 in UFC competition, making a strong case to be considered one of the top contenders at 135 pounds. However, his loss to Jose Aldo in December 2020 prevents the Ecuadorean from advancing beyond his No. 6 ranking in Sherdog’s divisional poll for the time being.
Elsewhere, former Bellator MMA interim heavyweight king Valentin Moldavsky saw his Bellator 284 matchup with unbeaten prospect Steve Mowry end just 54 seconds after it began due to an accidental eye poke, so he stays put at No. 13 in the rankings. Finally, depth always seems to be an issue in the women’s featherweight division, and we’ve recalibrated the back end of our 145-pound rankings just a little bit, welcoming the likes of Sinead Kavanagh and Leah McCourt to the featherweight bubble.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
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