The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is as popular as ever, featuring a lineup of must-see events each and every week. Between Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday nights, the highly-anticipated UFC 278 scheduled for August 20, and this weekend’s Fight Night headlined by Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera vs Dominick Cruz, there is seemingly never a shortage of action stemming from the world’s most prominent MMA promotion.
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As the hype builds for the bantamweight main event set for Saturday, August 13, bettors in legal states can take advantage of a risk-free bet worth up to $1,000 at BetMGM Sportsbook. Simply enter promo code HANDLE when signing up and place your first wager on any bet type or sports market, including any matchup during UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Cruz!
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BetMGM Sportsbook is known for its generosity and it shows with the brand’s latest promotional offer for all new players. Right now, first-time BetMGM users located in select states can take advantage of a $1,000 risk-free first bet. Here’s how:
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Let’s say you registered for a brand new account at BetMGM, deposited $100, and placed your entire balance on Dominick Cruz to defeat Marlon Vera at +200 odds. If Cruz happens to win, then you’d win $200 plus your initial stake of $100 back. If Cruz loses, however, you’d normally be out of luck. With BetMGM’s sign-up promo, you would receive your $100 back in the form of free bet credits.
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UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Cruz details
- Date: Saturday, August 13th, 2022
- UFC Fight Night Start Time: Prelims 4:00pm ET, Main Card 7:00pm ET
- UFC Fight Night TV Channel: ESPN, ESPN+
- Location: Pechanga Arena, San Diego, CA
Main Card
- Marlon Vera (-225) vs Dominick Cruz (+180)
- Nate Landwehr (+275) vs David Onama (-350)
- Yazmin Jauregui (-200) vs Jasmin Lucindo (+165)
- Devin Clark (+120) vs Azamat Murzakanov (-145)
- Priscila Cachoeira (+165) vs Ariane Lipski (-200)
- Bruno Silva (-300) vs Gerald Meerschaert (+240)
Prelims
- Angela Hill (+260) vs Loopy Godinez (-350)
- Martin Buday (-275) vs Lukasz Brzeski (+220)
- Cynthia Calvillo (-175) vs Nina Nunes (+145)
- Gabriel Benitez (-350) vs Charlie Ontiveros (+260)
- Ode’ Osbourne (-275) vs Tyson Nam (+210)
- Jason Witt (+225) vs Josh Quinlan (-275)
- Youssef Zalal (-125) vs Da’Mon Blackshear (+105)
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UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Cruz betting preview
Yet another exciting UFC Fight Night is set to begin at 4:00pm ET on Saturday, August 13th from Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. The event is headlined by an intriguing bantamweight matchup between Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera and former division champion Dominick Cruz that could result in a title shot for either fighter. BetMGM Sportsbook currently has Vera listed as a -225 favorite to win the bout, with Cruz coming in at +180. Bettors can find a slew of other props for the main event over at BetMGM, along with odds for every other fight taking place on Saturday night! Let’s get into the fighters:
Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera (-225)
The No. 5 ranked Chito Vera (19-7-1) enters this bout with momentum certainly on his side, having won each of his last three fights and nine of his last eleven dating back to August 2018.
Following a loss to Jose Aldo via unanimous decision in December 2020, Vera has managed to take down Davey Grant, Frankie Edgar, and most recently Rob Font via unanimous decision during the main event of UFC on ESPN on April 30, 2022. This is all in addition to his first-round knockout of Sean O’Malley at UFC 252 in August 2020.
The 29-year-old bantamweight contender has a whopping 19 UFC bouts (13-6) under his belt, a slew of notable names on his record, and appears ready to make the next big leap in his MMA career. Vera’s stand-up game should create problems for the 36-year-old Cruz, who has been extremely durable throughout his career but did look vulnerable in the early stages of his last fight vs Pedro Munhoz. Vera enters the matchup with a 2-inch reach advantage, much higher striking accuracy than Cruz, and a much-improved ground game. As the odds indicate, it’s Chito’s fight to lose.
Dominick Cruz (+180)
After a near four-year layoff due to numerous setbacks and injuries, the former two-time Bantamweight Champion finally made his return to the octagon on May 9, 2020 against Henry Cejudo as a replacement for Jose Aldo. The fight didn’t last very long, as Cruz was TKO’d in the 2nd round via knee and punches.
Since making his initial return, ‘The Dominator’ has fought twice, picking up a pair of wins by decision over Casey Kenney (split) on March 6, 2021 and Pedro Munhoz (unanimous) on December 11, 2021. Cruz (24-3) will now face his toughest test in over two years in front of the home crowd at the place where it all began, his stomping grounds of San Diego, California.
Despite clearly having his best years behind him, Cruz is still a formidable, savvy veteran who can take damage and make his opponent work. Cruz has only been finished twice in his professional MMA career, both at the hands of legendary scrappers in Urijah Faber and Cejudo.
Vera, on the other hand, has left four his last six fights up to the scorer’s table to decide – his only finishes coming against O’Malley and Edgar. Considering that O’Malley was injured prior to Vera’s TKO and Edgar has now lost four of his last five fights, Vera’s recent tear isn’t as impressive as it seems. He is just 2-2 over his last four fights that have resulted in a decision, losing unanimously to both Aldo and Song Yadong.
This bodes extremely well for Cruz, who will likely need to grind out all five rounds in order to steal one from one of the UFC’s hottest fighters. If Cruz can dictate the pace early on, stall Chito’s momentum as the fight progresses, and mix in some takedowns, the former champion could find his name back in the title conversation by the end of Saturday night.
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While Saturday night may be reserved for UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Cruz, there’s still plenty of other action taking place throughout the sports world. If MMA isn’t your cup of tea, feel free to wager risk-free on any other sports market or event of your choosing – as long as you enter promo code HANDLE during registration, you’ll be good to go! Use your BetMGM risk-free first bet on:
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