Cory Sandhagen
USA
Crushing loss to Mario Bautista
Sandhagen lost to Mario Bautista via unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC 329 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Now 34 years old and having came up short in his highest profile fights to date, this felt like one Sandhagen had to have. The fact he was able to make it semi-competitive while fighting the final ten minutes on one leg was remarkable. Cory appeared to clearly injure his knee on a Bautista submission attempt in the dying seconds of Round 1. He was able to hide the damage so well that he won Round 2 on all three scorecards, but a Bautista knockdown in the opening minute of Round 3 essentially ended the fight right there. Sandhagen never threatened again. In a division as competitive as bantamweight, it's nearly impossible to overcome the recent 1-3 streak that the Colorado native has suffered through in his past four appearances.
Now 34 years old and having came up short in his highest profile fights to date, this felt like one Sandhagen had to have. The fact he was able to make it semi-competitive while fighting the final ten minutes on one leg was remarkable. Cory appeared to clearly injure his knee on a Bautista submission attempt in the dying seconds of Round 1. He was able to hide the damage so well that he won Round 2 on all three scorecards, but a Bautista knockdown in the opening minute of Round 3 essentially ended the fight right there. Sandhagen never threatened again. In a division as competitive as bantamweight, it's nearly impossible to overcome the recent 1-3 streak that the Colorado native has suffered through in his past four appearances.
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Bautista next at UFC 329
Sandhagen will fight fellow bantamweight Mario Bautista at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on July 11, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
UFC 329 will mark Sandhagen's first fight since he was outclassed by now-ex-UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili back in October. The former's focus is climbing back up the promotion's BW pecking order and fending off rising contenders, the latter featuring No. 8 Bautista.
UFC 329 will mark Sandhagen's first fight since he was outclassed by now-ex-UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili back in October. The former's focus is climbing back up the promotion's BW pecking order and fending off rising contenders, the latter featuring No. 8 Bautista.
Outclassed in title defeat
Sandhagen came up short in his quest for the UFC Bantamweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision (45-49, 45-49, 46-49) at UFC 320 in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Sandhagen did as well as any opponent has against Dvalishvili in recent memory -- for a round. Oddly enough, the downfall for Cory came on the feet. He was blasted by Merab in Round 2 and was lucky to survive the frame. He actually recovered well and was semi-competitive the rest of the way, but he never truly threatened the champion. On the surface, giving up 20 takedowns seems dismal, but Sandhagen allowed just 10:02 worth of control time. He quickly worked his way to the fence and got back up most every time Merab got him to the mat. Like those before him, he simply wasn't able to keep Dvalishvili off of him for a significant length of time. This had the feeling of the last title shot for the 33-year-old Colorado native. After all, Sandhagen is just 1-2 in his past three fights.
Sandhagen did as well as any opponent has against Dvalishvili in recent memory -- for a round. Oddly enough, the downfall for Cory came on the feet. He was blasted by Merab in Round 2 and was lucky to survive the frame. He actually recovered well and was semi-competitive the rest of the way, but he never truly threatened the champion. On the surface, giving up 20 takedowns seems dismal, but Sandhagen allowed just 10:02 worth of control time. He quickly worked his way to the fence and got back up most every time Merab got him to the mat. Like those before him, he simply wasn't able to keep Dvalishvili off of him for a significant length of time. This had the feeling of the last title shot for the 33-year-old Colorado native. After all, Sandhagen is just 1-2 in his past three fights.
Books second chance for title
Sandhagen will take on Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 320 on Oct. 6, according to UFC President Dana White (via Instagram Live).
ANALYSIS
Sandhagen will get his second shot in the bantamweight championship after losing his only other chance back in 2021 to Petyr Yan via unanimous decision. The bantamweight champion has now been Dvalishvili since September of 2024, after a title win over Sean O'Malley and two title defenses versus Umar Nurmagomedov and O'Malley again this past June. Sandhagen will enter the fight with a two-inch reach advantage and as a younger competitor (by a year), but Dvalishvili should give the American a run for his money with a 13-0 record since 2018. This means Sandhagen is primed to enter the match as an underdog, so he'll have to dig in to snag his first ever UFC belt.
Sandhagen will get his second shot in the bantamweight championship after losing his only other chance back in 2021 to Petyr Yan via unanimous decision. The bantamweight champion has now been Dvalishvili since September of 2024, after a title win over Sean O'Malley and two title defenses versus Umar Nurmagomedov and O'Malley again this past June. Sandhagen will enter the fight with a two-inch reach advantage and as a younger competitor (by a year), but Dvalishvili should give the American a run for his money with a 13-0 record since 2018. This means Sandhagen is primed to enter the match as an underdog, so he'll have to dig in to snag his first ever UFC belt.
Another win, title shot next?
Sandhagen defeated Deiveson Figueiredo via TKO (injury) at 4:08 of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.
ANALYSIS
It was the dominant bell-to-bell performance you expect when a fighter enters as north of a -500 favorite. Sandhagen completely overwhelmed Figueiredo with his physicality, controlling things on the mat and seemingly almost always ending up in a dominant position. A Figueiredo knee injury resulted in an early finish, but at the time of the stoppage, Sandhagen had a 92-8 edge in total strikes landed and connected on both of his takedown attempts for 5:07 worth of control time. It was a brilliant effort that would go on to earn him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Cory entered having dropped a lopsided unanimous decision to Umar Nurmagomedov his last time out. That typically would mean he wouldn't be in line for a title shot, but Umar already got his shot at current UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili in January and lost. Merab and Sean O'Malley will have a rematch for the title at UFC 316 in Newark in early-June, at which time Sandhagen should be next in line for the winner.
It was the dominant bell-to-bell performance you expect when a fighter enters as north of a -500 favorite. Sandhagen completely overwhelmed Figueiredo with his physicality, controlling things on the mat and seemingly almost always ending up in a dominant position. A Figueiredo knee injury resulted in an early finish, but at the time of the stoppage, Sandhagen had a 92-8 edge in total strikes landed and connected on both of his takedown attempts for 5:07 worth of control time. It was a brilliant effort that would go on to earn him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Cory entered having dropped a lopsided unanimous decision to Umar Nurmagomedov his last time out. That typically would mean he wouldn't be in line for a title shot, but Umar already got his shot at current UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili in January and lost. Merab and Sean O'Malley will have a rematch for the title at UFC 316 in Newark in early-June, at which time Sandhagen should be next in line for the winner.
Set to fight Figueiredo
Sandhagen will fight Deiveson Figueiredo on May 3 at UFC Des Moines, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Sandhagen has booked his next fight as he looks to avenge his loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in August. Figueiredo is also coming off a loss to Petr Yan in November. Sandhagen will have a significant advantage in height (six inches) and reach (two inches) in Iowa.
Sandhagen has booked his next fight as he looks to avenge his loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in August. Figueiredo is also coming off a loss to Petr Yan in November. Sandhagen will have a significant advantage in height (six inches) and reach (two inches) in Iowa.