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How Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen compare in key stats
The top of the UFC’s bantamweight division could see some movement this weekend when Marlon Moraes, who is the No. 1 ranked fighter in official UFC rankings, faces the No. 4 ranked Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Fight Island 5.
The goal of each fighter in this matchup will be to solidify their claim as the next fighter to face current 135-pound kingpin Petr Yan. Yan won the UFC bantamweight crown in July with a fifth-round TKO win over former featherweight champion Jose Aldo. The UFC awarded that title shot to Aldo coming off a split-decision loss to Moraes in December 2019. That split decision and the fact that Aldo got the title shot despite being on the wrong side of the decision will weigh on Moraes. Moraes has not fought since his win over Aldo.
Sandhagen opened his UFC career on a 5-0 run. He faced increasingly difficult matchups during his fast accession up the bantamweight ranks. After wins over John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao in 2019, Sandhagen faced Aljamain Sterling in June of this year. Sterling ended Sandhagen’s winning streak with a first round rear-naked choke submission win.
Fans can expect an aggressive striking bout between Moraes and Sandhagen. Moraes uses more kicks than Sandhagen, who prefers a boxing based attack.
The one glaring stat to look at in this fight is that both men absorb more significant strikes per minute than they land.
Before Saturday’s UFC Fight Island 5 fight card takes place, here is a look at how the main event competitors line up in some important statistical categories.