UFC on ESPN 41 live results: Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz

Welcome to our live coverage of UFC on ESPN 41, emanating from the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California — the Octagon’s first appearance in the city since July 2015.

The show is headlined by former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz vs. Marlon Vera — a pivotal bantamweight bout between two Southern California fighters looking to get themselves into the crowded title picture at 135 pounds.

Cruz is headlining a UFC event for the first time since January 2016 as the former WEC bantamweight champion looks to score his third straight win following victories over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz.

Vera is looking to notch the biggest win of his career into his second straight UFC main event. He enters Saturday on a three-fight win streak after scoring a decision over Rob Font in April. 

The main card also features a featherweight bout that could produce fireworks between Nate Landwehr and David Onama; a light heavyweight bout with Devin Clark battling Azamat Murzakanov; a women’s bantamweight fight pitting Priscila Cachoeira against Ariane Lipski; and a middleweight bout with Bruno Silva taking on Gerald Meerschaert.

Our live coverage begins at 4 PM Eastern with the prelims.

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ESPN PRELIMS | 4 PM ET/1 PM PT

> Bantamweights- Youssef Zalal (10-5, 3-3 UFC) vs. Da’Mon Blackshear (12-4, 0-0 UFC)

They trade leg kicks to start. Blackshear with a leg kick. They trade more leg kicks. It’s all leg kicks for both in the first minute then Zalal gets the takedown. Zalal working inside the guard of Blackshear. Zalal still working from the top but not a whole lot is happening. Blackshear looks for the leg. Blackshear is able to get the back of Zalal and looks to get the hooks in. Blackshear threatens with the choke late. Close round. 10-9 Blackshear.

They trade leg kicks to start and Blackshear lands a right hand. Zalal with a high kick. Blackshear lands a punch and shoots for a takedown against the fence. Blackshear gets the takedown. Blackshear gets the back and almost had the choke in but was too high and Zalal slipped out and is now on top. Zalal gets the back and now he is looking for a choke. Blackshear escapes and ends up transitioning to the back of Zalal. They get to their feet. Zalal with a knee as Blackshear lands some right hands in the clinch. Blackshear jumps on the back as they’re on the feet and he’s in the backpack position. Blackshear working for the choke. He has it in but it’s around the neck. Zalal survives. 10-9 Blackshear, 20-18 Blackshear.

They’re both looking for openings to start the third. Blackshear with a leg kick. Zalal with a step-in knee. Zalal with a couple of jabs and just misses the knee. They trade leg kicks. Zalal with a nice combo. They trade jabs. Zalal with a jab as Blackshear lands a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Zalal with a solid combination against the fence. Blackshear lands a right hand. Blackshear shoots for the takedown and has the single leg. They break. Zalal lands a flurry including some knees. Zalal lands a couple of elbows. They trade nice right hands. Zalal with some body shots. Zalal with a combo to the head and body. Zalal with a combo as Blackshear lands a right hand. Zalal lands a body kick and Blackshear starts to fall to the mat and Zalal gets on top and starts landing some hammerfists. Zalal is in the mount and landing punches and Herb Dean is close to stopping it. They somehow make it to the end. Big final round from Zalal. Close fight, though. 10-9 Zalal, 29-28 Blackshear.

Official Result- Youssef Zalal vs. Da’Mon Blackshear ends in a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)

> 180-pound Catchweights- Jason Witt (19-8, 2-3 UFC) vs. Josh Quinlan (5-0 1 NC, 0-0 UFC)

Quinlan lands a right hand. Witt with a body kick. Quinlan with a leg kick. Witt gets the takedown against the fence. Witt has the back as Quinlan gets to his feet. They separate. Quinlan lands a left hook that drops Witt and he’s out cold! What a knockout!

Official Result- Josh Quinlan def. Jason Witt by knockout (punch) at 2:09 of Round 1

> Flyweights- Ode Osbourne (11-4, 3-2 UFC) vs. Tyson Nam (20-12-1, 2-3 UFC)

Osbourne with some early kicks. He lands a left hand. He lands a right hook. Osbourne with a body kick. They trade in close range as Nam lands a right hand to the body. Osbourne lands a hard left hand. Osbourne tries a flying knee but misses and Nam drops him with a right hand immediately after and a follow-up flurry puts Osbourne out cold. What a finish from Nam!

Official Result- Tyson Nam def. Ode Osbourne by knockout (punches) at 2:59 of Round 1

> Lightweights- Gabriel Benitez (22-10, 6-6 UFC) vs. Charlie Ontiveros (11-8, 0-2 UFC)

Benitez with a leg kick. Ontiveros just misses an axe kick. They clinch against the fence. They break and Ontiveros lands the axe kick and follows it with some body kicks. Ontiveros with a right hook. Benitez with a leg kick. Ontiveros with a spin kick then a leg kick. They clinch and we have a time out for a groin strike. They get back to action and Benitez wobbles Ontiveros with a punch and then gets a big slam takedown against the fence. Benitez gets the mount and is landing punches from the top. Benitez with more right hands and it is stopped. What a finish by Benitez!

Official Result- Gabriel Benitez def. Charlie Ontiveros by TKO (punches) at 3:35 of Round 1

> Women’s Flyweights- #12 Cynthia Calvillo (9-4-1, 6-4-1 UFC) vs. #9 SW Nina Nunes (10-7, 4-4 UFC)

They trade leg kicks to start things off. Nunes with a leg kick and Calvillo lands one of her own. Nunes lands a kick and Calvillo grabs the leg and gets a brief takedown. Nunes with more leg kicks and just misses a front kick to the face. Nunes with another leg kick. Calvillo tries for a takedown but Nunes defends. Nunes with more leg kicks. 10-9 Nunes.

Calvillo with an inside leg kick. Nunes with a leg kick. Nunes with a check hook. Neither is taking a lot of chances here. Calvillo lands a left hand. They trade jabs. Calvillo gets a takedown and is in the guard of Nunes and both are landing on the mat. There’s a scramble but Calvillo keeps the fight on the mat. They get to their feet. Nunes shoots for a takedown but Calvillo defends. Nunes with a body kick. 10-9 Calvillo, 19-19.

Nunes with a body kick. Nunes with some more kicks. Nunes with an outside leg kick. Calvillo gets a brief takedown but Nunes scrambles to their feet. They trade leg kicks and punches but there is no sense of urgency from either. They trade and Calvillo shoots for a late takedown but Nunes defends and Nunes lands late. Close fight. 10-9 Nunes, 29-28 Nunes.

Official Result- Nina Nunes def. Cynthia Calvillo by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

*Nunes took her gloves off and announced her retirement after the fight.

> Heavyweights- Martin Buday (10-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Lukasz Brzeski (8-1-1 1 NC, 0-0 UFC)

They’re trading to start and both land some right hands. Brzeski with a combo as they clinch but they separate. Brzeski with a leg kick. Brzeski lands a big right hand that backs Buday up and Brzeski lands some shots against the fence. Brzeski with a right hand then the jab. Brzeski with a right hand. They both land left hooks. Brzeski with a right hand. Buday lands a right hand. They trade in close range. Brzeski with a body kick. Brzeski with a right hand and they trade leg kicks. Brzeski with the jab. 10-9 Brzeski.

Brzeski lands a right hand. Brzeski with a leg kick. Buday with a leg kick. Brzeski with a leg kick. They continue to trade with Brzeski landing with more volume. Brzeski with a left to the body and an overhand right. They trade left hands. Buday with a quick flurry of shots. Brzeski with a leg kick and Buday lands a right hand. Brzeski with a right hand. Brzeski with a combination as Buday lands a leg kick and is head hunting. Buday with a right hand. 10-9 Brzeski, 20-18 Brzeski.

They trade right hands to start the third. They trade leg kicks. Brzeski with a right hand. Brzeski with a combo as he lands a left hook. Buday lands a right hand. Buday with a leg kick. Brzeski with a combo. Buday with a right hand. Brzeski with a left hand. Brzeski just misses a massive right hand. Buday lands a nice left hand. He lands a leg kick. Buday with a right hand. 10-9 Buday, 29-28 Brzeski.

Official Result- Martin Buday def. Lukasz Brzeski by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

> Women’s 120-pound Catchweights- #13 SW Angela Hill (13-12, 8-12 UFC) vs. Lupita Godinez (8-2, 3-2 UFC)

Godinez lands a big right hand and is landing some big shots and Hill goes for the takedown as they clinch but Godinez shakes it off. Godinez with a right hand. They trade in close range. Hill lands a high kick. Godinez with a combo. Godinez with a left hand. Hill lands a knee but Godinez is still landing with more volume. Hill with a body kick. Hill with a jumping knee to the body. They clinch and Hill lands an elbow as they break. 10-9 Godinez.

Godinez lands a right hand. Godinez gets a takedown but Hill has the neck and they scramble to their feet. Hill lands a right hand and tries for a takedown but Godinez defends and they break. Hill with a quick combo inside the pocket. Hill lands a right hand. They trade jabs. Hill with a right hand. Godinez lands a right hand. They clinch and both land inside the clinch. Hill gets the takedown and has the back and lands some punches as the end. 10-9 Hill, 19-19.

They trade to start the third and both are landing. Hill lands the jab. Godinez with a right hand. The activity of both has slowed here in the third. Godinez lands a right hand and gets a brief takedown but they break as they stand. Hill with a body kick then the jab. They trade right hands. Hill tries for a single leg but ends up letting go. Godinez with a right hand. Hill with a body kick. Hill with a jumping knee. Godinez lands some big punches. They trade in a nice exchange. Godinez with a left hand. Close fight. 10-9 Godinez, 29-28 Godinez.

Official Result- Angela Hill def. Lupita Godinez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) 

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> Middleweights- Bruno Silva (22-7, 3-1 UFC) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (34-15, 9-7 UFC)

Meerschaert with a leg kick. Silva with a body kick. Meerschaert lands a body kick. Silva with a leg kick. Both still really looking for an opening early on here. Meerschaert with a body kick. Silva lands a left hand. Meerschaert gets the takedown. Meerschaert in the guard as he’s looking to improve his position. Meerschaert with an elbow from the top and lands some left hands. Meerschaert looks for the neck late. 10-9 Meerschaert.

Silva with some leg kicks. Meerschaert with a body kick and he’s avoiding Silva throwing punches. Meerschaert with a leg kick. Silva lands a right hand. Silva lands a nice counter strike after Meerschaert lands a body kick. Meerschaert with a body kick and gets out of the way of Silva throwing a head kick. Silva tries to chase Meerschaert down after they land but Silva misses. Meerschaert with a leg kick. They trade kicks. 10-9 Meerschaert, 20-18 Meerschaert.

Meerschaert with a couple of body kicks to start the third. They trade leg kicks. They trade jabs. Silva lands a combo. Meerschaert with a left hand and tries for a takedown but they break. Meerschaert drops Silva with a left hand and grabs the neck looking for a guillotine but Silva is trying to defend though he taps! What a finish by Meerschaert.

Official Result- Gerald Meerschaert def. Bruno Silva by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:39 of Round 3

> Women’s Bantamweights- Priscila Cachoeira (11-4, 3-4 UFC) vs. Ariane Lipski (14-7, 3-4 UFC)

They trade early and both are landing some big punches. Cachoeira drops Lipski with a right hand and gets on top and is landing big shots looking to finish. She continues to keep landing until Herb Dean stops it. What a finish from Cachoeira!

Official Result- Priscila Cachoeira def. Ariane Lipski by TKO (punches) at 1:05 of Round 1

> Light Heavyweights- Devin Clark (13-6, 7-6 UFC) vs. Azamat Murzakanov (11-0, 1-0 UFC)

Clark with a leg kick. He lands another. Murzakanov lands a left hand. Clark is just landing leg kicks in the first as his punches aren’t connecting. Murzakanov lands a few punches but not a ton happening. Clark with a high kick. Clark lands a head kick as Murzakanov was coming in and they clinch. Murzakanov lands a few knees. 10-9 Clark.

They trade and Murzakanov stuns Clark but Clark recovers. Clark with a right hand. Murzakanov lands a big combo that stuns Clark again. They clinch and Murzakanov with some knees to the thighs. They break and Murzakanov lands a left hand and Clark loses his balance and falls down. Murzakanov gets on top and is landing to the body. Murzakanov landing more from the top and he stands and lands some leg kicks and lets Clark up. Murzakanov lands a left hand as he’s pressuring. 10-9 Murzakanov, 19-19.

Murzakanov lands a quick jab. Murzakanov with some left hands to the body. Murzakanov lands a left hand to the body and Clark goes to the mat and Murzakanov gets on top and is landing big left hands. Clark is covering up as Murzakanov continues to land left hands and it is finally stopped. Big finish from Murzakanov.

Official Result- Azamat Murzakanov def. Devin Clark by TKO (punches) at 1:18 of Round 3

> Women’s Strawweights- Yazmin Jauregui (8-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Iasmin Lucindo (13-4, 0-0 UFC)

They trade some big punches with both landing equally. Jauregui lands some leg kicks. Jauregui lands a big combo then Lucindo fires back with a big flurry of punches and hurts Jauregui. Lucindo with a leg kick. Jauregui with a leg kick and Lucindo lands a combo but it ends with Jauregui landing a left hook. Jauregui with a leg kick and Lucindo with a combo. They trade and Jauregui lands a left hook. They clinch and Jauregui lands an elbow. They trade knees before breaking. Close round. 10-9 Jauregui.

They trade punches to start the second. Lucindo lands a left hook as Jauregui lands a right hand. They both land hard before clinching. Both battle for underhooks against the fence. They break to the center. Jauregui lands some kicks. Lucindo throws a spin kick that misses as she eats a right hand from Jauregui. They trade inside the pocket. Jauregui with a leg kick. Jauregui with a spin kick and lands a back fist as well. Jauregui with a left hand. Both land big punches late. 10-9 Jauregui, 20-18 Jauregui.

They trade to start the third. They trade inside the pocket and Lucindo lands a nice left hand. Jauregui lands a combo and then a right hand. Lucindo with a leg kick. They both land big punches that stun one another. They trade inside the pocket. Jauregui with a nice combo. Lucindo lands a spin kick. They trade late. Good fight. 10-9 Lucindo, 29-28 Jauregui.

Official Result- Yazmin Jauregui def. Iasmin Lucindo by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

> Featherweights- Nate Landwehr (15-4, 2-2 UFC) vs. David Onama (10-1, 2-1 UFC)

Landwehr with a leg kick. Both are landing with Onama landing with slightly more volume. Onama lands the jab. They trade right hands after Onama lands a combo. Onama lands a right hand. Onama lands a right hand and Landwehr slipped to the mat but got to his feet. Onama drops Landwehr with a left hand and is on top landing but Landwehr gets to his feet and Onama has the back and takes it down. Onama gets the mount and takes the back and is landing punches. Landwehr spins to the top. Landwehr with an elbow. He lands a few more. They get to their feet and Onama with a flurry. They battle in the clinch and Landwehr with some uppercuts. They break. Landwehr with two right hands. They clinch and Landwehr with some knees and an elbow as they break. Crazy round. 10-9 Onama.

Landwehr with some body kicks. Landwehr with a right hand and he’s the one forcing the action. They clinch against the fence and Landwehr with a knee. Landwehr lands some more knees. Landwehr gets the takedown and has the back and lands some right hands. They get to their feet. Landwehr has the neck and lands a knee and they roll to the mat but stand. Landwehr gets it back down and is on top and lands a short elbow. He gets the back of Onama and looks for a choke but lets go. They scramble to the feet and Landwehr with a knee. They trade big right hands. They clinch against the fence and Landwehr with some body shots. Landwehr looks for an anaconda choke but Onama slips out. Landwehr gets the mount and is landing some big shots. Landwehr looks for the guillotine but Onama slips out. They get to their feet and Landwehr with a big right hand. He lands another. Landwehr with a big uppercut. Landwehr gets the takedown and lands some big shots from the top. He gets the back of Onama. Landwehr tries for the choke. Landwehr with punches from the back. He is now on top landing big shots. Landwehr gets the full mount and lands at the end. Wild round. 10-8 Landwehr, 19-18 Landwehr.

Landwehr with a right hand. Onama lands the jab. They trade big shots. Landwehr with a big right hand. Landwehr with a flurry of punches. Landwehr with some right hands after showboating. They tie up against the fence and Landwehr lands before they break. Onama lands a big right hand and has Landwehr in trouble as he lands a quick flurry. Onama with another big right hand. They clinch and Landwehr with a lot of knees. They break and both land inside the pocket. Onama lands a couple of right hands. Onama tries for a takedown. Landwehr ends up landing some knees then a big high kick. Onama with a big right hand. Onama with a combo then Landwehr lands a right hand. Landwehr lands a knee and they go to the mat and Landwehr is in side control. They get to their feet. Landwehr with a leg kick. Landwehr with a right hand and Onama rocks Landwehr with a flurry late and they trade big shots at the end. What an insane fight. 10-9 Landwehr, 29-27 Landwehr.

Official Result- Nate Landwehr def. David Onama by majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)

> Bantamweights- #5 Marlon Vera (21-7-1, 13-6 UFC) vs. #8 Dominick Cruz (24-3, 7-2 UFC)

Cruz with a quick flurry. Cruz with another flurry after landing a head kick. Cruz with a body kick. Cruz with a leg kick. Vera with a body kick and Cruz gets a takedown and lands some kicks before Vera gets up. Cruz lands a leg kick and Vera lands a left hook that briefly put Cruz on his butt but he got right up. Cruz with a flurry. Both circling and resetting. Cruz with a leg kick. Cruz with another flurry. Cruz with a combination as he blitzes forward. Cruz gets the takedown and is in the guard of Vera. Vera went for a triangle but Cruz scrambled out. 10-9 Cruz.

Cruz with a combo to start the second. Cruz with some leg kicks and lands a right hand. Cruz with a body kick then another. Vera with a front kick and they trade punches. They trade inside the pocket. Cruz with a right hand to the body. Vera with a right hand. Cruz with a right hand. Cruz with more volume in the second. Vera just misses a head kick. 10-9 Cruz, 20-18 Cruz.

They trade to start the third with both landing right hands. Cruz with a leg kick. Vera rocks Cruz with a right hand and Cruz almost went down but returned fire with a big combo. Vera lands a combo. Cruz tries a takedown but Vera sprawls and they both land as they get to their feet. Cruz with a combo but Vera lands a left hand that slows him down. Cruz pressing forward but missed most of his punches. Cruz lands a left hand and goes for a takedown and Vera lands some elbows. They break. Vera with a body kick. 10-9 Vera, 29-28 Cruz.

They trade to start the fourth. Cruz shoots for the takedown but Vera defends. Cruz lands a right hand and Vera stumbles backwards. Vera lands a jab and Cruz goes down but gets right back up. Cruz with a right hand. Vera lands a head kick that puts Cruz down face first and some follow-up punches ends it all. What a finish from Vera!

Official Result- Marlon Vera def. Dominick Cruz by knockout (head kick) at 2:17 of Round 4