Marlon Vera and his team had a pretty good idea that he could finish Dominick Cruz in emphatic fashion.
In fact, Vera’s coach, Jason Parillo, sent the fighter an image early in the week foreshadowing the head kick knockout that would end Cruz’s night in the UFC on ESPN 41 headliner at Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Saturday night.
“Like six days ago, my coach sent a picture,” Vera said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “It was literally [Pedro] Munhoz kicking his body [in their fight at UFC 269], and his head was dipping all the way down.