Dominick Cruz was up on the scorecards when Marlon Vera knocked him out at UFC San Diego

Former two-time bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz was stopped in the UFC San Diego main event by a head kick by Marlon Vera followed by punches.

Cruz was in control in the opening round, but was dropped by a left hook. He quickly got back to his feet and won the round on all three judges scorecards with flurries and takedowns.

Cruz dictated the pace in the second round, and had a much higher output than Vera. The first two rounds were Cruz’ rounds.

Vera found his range in the third frame and starting pressuring Cruz. A clean right hand buckled Cruz’ legs, but Cruz responded with a flurry of punches. The tide was turning, though. All three judges scored the third round for Vega.

Heading into the fourth frame, Cruz was up two rounds to one over Vera, but the fight wouldn’t get out of the fourth round. Cruz was dictating the round until a still jab briefly sat him down. Cruz quickly got back to his feet, but moments later Vera connected with a head kick that sent Cruz crashing to the canvas face down. Vera immediately swooped in and delivered follow up punches until the referee Herb Dean stopped the fight.