5 fights that could be next for Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz's charge towards the title was stopped dead in its tracks on Saturday when he was on the receiving end of a devastating head kick KO loss. The defeat to Marlon Vera will be a tough one to take for the former champion Cruz, who looked great in the earlier rounds of the contest.

Marlon “Chito” Vera knocks out Dominick Cruz

(California, 2022) 📸 @WalkNolan https://t.co/S4SGKuol1O

It will now be interesting to see where he goes from here as it will be tough for him to re-enter the title picture. With that being said, he looked in great shape early and was getting the better of a top five bantamweight at times. His next opponent is therefore likely to still have a number next to their name.

Here are five fights that could be next for Dominick Cruz:

#5. Dominick Cruz vs. Merab Dvalishivili

While Cruz’s bantamweight main event is now in the rear-view mirror, there will be another big-time fight in the division this coming weekend. Merab Dvalishvili will face Jose Aldo with the winner likely to find themselves right around the title picture. The loser, however, is likely to land right around Cruz in the rankings.

Jose Aldo and Merab Dvalishvili have verbally agreed to a bantamweight bout at UFC 278 on August 20, sources confirmed with @marcraimondi.

Ariel Helwani was the first to report the bout being targeted. https://t.co/ghf576yd13

Given Aldo’s strong record against wrestlers in the past, perhaps Dvalishvili will suffer a loss, which could set up a fight with Dominick Cruz. Dvalishvili is still young and his current win streak indicates he could still have a bright future in the division even if he does suffer a loss this weekend.

A match-up between the pair would allow one of these men to remain right around the division’s top five and within title contention. It would be interesting to see how Dvalishvili’s grappling would match up against Cruz’s sensational footwork. Obviously, this weekend will be crucial to this potential fight.