Tag: Cory Sandhagen

Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Set For UFC Fight Night Headliner On May 3

The MMA leader has seen a flurry of fight announcements over the past day or so, with the latest being the main event for a UFC Fight Night in Iowa this coming May. On Thursday, MMA reporter Léo Guimaraes first broke the news on X that top bantamweight contenders Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo are […]

The MMA leader has seen a flurry of fight announcements over the past day or so, with the latest being the main event for a UFC Fight Night in Iowa this coming May.

On Thursday, MMA reporter Léo Guimaraes first broke the news on X that top bantamweight contenders Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo are set to clash at a UFC Fight Night event on May 3 in Des Moines.

MMA Junkie further confirmed the update, reporting that the Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo showdown will serve as the main event for UFC Des Moines, though the venue remains undisclosed.

Sandhagen was last seen in action against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Abu Dhabi in August 2024, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss, snapping his three-fight winning streak.

“The Sandman” has gone 5-4 in his last nine Octagon appearances and will be eager to reignite his title aspirations with a potential statement win over Figueiredo.

Meanwhile, the former flyweight champion tasted defeat for the first time at bantamweight in his most recent outing against ex-champ Petr Yan at UFC Macau last November. “Deus da Guerra” now holds a 3-1 record in the 135-pound division and will be looking to bounce back in a big way.

With Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo added to the card, the UFC Des Moines lineup is shaping up as follows:

  • Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
  • Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate
  • Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
  • JeongYeong Lee vs. Trevor Peek
  • Serhiy Sidey vs. Cameron Smotherman
  • Gillian Robertson vs. Marina Rodriguez

Cory Sandhagen: ‘I Have The Style That Will Beat Merab Dvalishvili’

Cory Sandhagen is one of the top contenders in the bantamweight division but several key losses have stopped him from claiming UFC gold to this point. He’s been beaten by the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov, Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling in the past but “The Sandman” is always circling the title picture meaning that he’s […]

Cory Sandhagen is one of the top contenders in the bantamweight division but several key losses have stopped him from claiming UFC gold to this point. He’s been beaten by the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov, Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling in the past but “The Sandman” is always circling the title picture meaning that he’s never too far away from getting the next shot.

In a recent YouTube video on his channel, Sandhagen looked to breakdown the recent bantamweight title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and his former opponent, Nurmagomedov. The current titleholder is one of the few top names at 135-pounds that Sandhagen is yet to meet inside the Octagon and despite the incredible performance that “The Machine” delivered this past weekend at UFC 311, it’s obviously a fight that intrigues the #4-ranked contender.

“Umar’s definitely a really good fighter,” Sandhagen said on his YouTube channel. “He beat me. He’s better than I am stylistically. That being said, styles make fights. If you’re going to be a guy that fights against Merab, you have to have really, really, really good footwork and be able to defend the takedowns in an energy efficient way. Merab has fought O’Malley, beat him pretty decisively. Yan, beat him pretty decisively. Umar, beat him pretty decisively. Those are the three guys that are ahead of me. I should be next in line.”

With that analysis in mind and his position in the division, Sandhagen believes that he would be an interesting matchup for the reigning champion because of the clash of styles. He acknowledged that it would be a “tough sell” and he’s not going to call out Dvalishvili but nevertheless, “The Sandman” believes that he might be the man to dethrone the Georgian.

“I do think that if there is a style that beats Merab, it’s one that can control the space the best. And say whatever you want about my style, what you have to say about it is I probably have the best footwork in the division. If not the best, way, way up there. I hold space, keep space, close it, open it better than anyone else in the division in my opinion. That’s what’s going to beat Merab. So when I get to fight him, I’m really excited to see how that gets to look like.”

Cory Sandhagen Hopes To See Dvalishvili ‘Get Served Up’ At UFC 311: ‘Merab’s Been Talking A Lot’

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen will be backing his most recent opponent when champion Merab Dvalishvili’s first title defense rolls around next month. Dvalishvili will put his 135-pound gold on the line four months on from his crowning, which came at the expense of Sean O’Malley inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere this past […]

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen will be backing his most recent opponent when champion Merab Dvalishvili’s first title defense rolls around next month.

Dvalishvili will put his 135-pound gold on the line four months on from his crowning, which came at the expense of Sean O’Malley inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere this past September.

After much discourse regarding his next opponent, and in spite of his preference not to face the challenge of Umar Nurmagomedov, the Georgian will share the cage with the undefeated Dagestani at UFC 311 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18.

If he’s to maintain his grip on the bantamweight belt and add a successful retention to his reign, “The Machine” must become the first to defeat Nurmagomedov — a feat that the highly regarded Sandhagen most recently failed to accomplish.

During a recent interview with MiddleEasy, Sandhagen assessed Dvalishvili’s chances of having his hand raised inside the Intuit Dome early next year.

“The Sandman” was honest in stating that he simply doesn’t see a single path to victory for the current champ. And beyond just his prediction, Sandhagen is actually hoping to see Dvalishvili beaten given how the Georgian’s been talking in recent weeks and months.

“I think that Umar will win. I just can’t see a path for Merab to win,” Sandhagen said. “I don’t think that he’s going to be able to strike with him, but I also don’t think he’ll be able to take him down and control him like he was able to do against O’Malley and against other guys. I don’t see a path to success for Merab.

“I think Umar is going to defend those shots, keep it in the striking realm, and just kind of — Umar’s a sniper, man. People don’t realize just how fast that guy is and how his kicks come out of nowhere,” Sandhagen continued. “Fighting a guy like Merab will be a good opportunity for him to show off a little, and just because Merab’s been talking a lot of sh*t, I kinda want to watch Merab get served up a little bit.”

After repeatedly dismissing Nurmagomedov’s title shot worthiness, Dvalishvili has cut a frustrated figure since the matchup was officially announced. He notably laid into the Dagestani during the on-sale press conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, later threatening to “slap” the challenger.

The time for talking will soon be over, with the pair set to co-headline the very first numbered event of 2025.

Cory Sandhagen Hopes To See Dvalishvili ‘Get Served Up’ At UFC 311: ‘Merab’s Been Talking A Lot’

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen will be backing his most recent opponent when champion Merab Dvalishvili’s first title defense rolls around next month. Dvalishvili will put his 135-pound gold on the line four months on from his crowning, which came at the expense of Sean O’Malley inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere this past […]

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen will be backing his most recent opponent when champion Merab Dvalishvili’s first title defense rolls around next month.

Dvalishvili will put his 135-pound gold on the line four months on from his crowning, which came at the expense of Sean O’Malley inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere this past September.

After much discourse regarding his next opponent, and in spite of his preference not to face the challenge of Umar Nurmagomedov, the Georgian will share the cage with the undefeated Dagestani at UFC 311 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18.

If he’s to maintain his grip on the bantamweight belt and add a successful retention to his reign, “The Machine” must become the first to defeat Nurmagomedov — a feat that the highly regarded Sandhagen most recently failed to accomplish.

During a recent interview with MiddleEasy, Sandhagen assessed Dvalishvili’s chances of having his hand raised inside the Intuit Dome early next year.

“The Sandman” was honest in stating that he simply doesn’t see a single path to victory for the current champ. And beyond just his prediction, Sandhagen is actually hoping to see Dvalishvili beaten given how the Georgian’s been talking in recent weeks and months.

“I think that Umar will win. I just can’t see a path for Merab to win,” Sandhagen said. “I don’t think that he’s going to be able to strike with him, but I also don’t think he’ll be able to take him down and control him like he was able to do against O’Malley and against other guys. I don’t see a path to success for Merab.

“I think Umar is going to defend those shots, keep it in the striking realm, and just kind of — Umar’s a sniper, man. People don’t realize just how fast that guy is and how his kicks come out of nowhere,” Sandhagen continued. “Fighting a guy like Merab will be a good opportunity for him to show off a little, and just because Merab’s been talking a lot of sh*t, I kinda want to watch Merab get served up a little bit.”

After repeatedly dismissing Nurmagomedov’s title shot worthiness, Dvalishvili has cut a frustrated figure since the matchup was officially announced. He notably laid into the Dagestani during the on-sale press conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, later threatening to “slap” the challenger.

The time for talking will soon be over, with the pair set to co-headline the very first numbered event of 2025.

Cory Sandhagen Suggests Petr Yan Rematch In 2025: ‘I Still Want To Get That One Back’

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen has become the latest to express interest in running it back with ex-champion Petr Yan next year. Yan continued his winning form at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Macau, China, where he headlined in defense of his position on the 135-pound ladder against former two-time flyweight kingpin Deiveson […]

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen has become the latest to express interest in running it back with ex-champion Petr Yan next year.

Yan continued his winning form at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Macau, China, where he headlined in defense of his position on the 135-pound ladder against former two-time flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo.

Having snapped a three-fight losing skid with a victory over Song Yadong this past March, “No Mercy” got back to a win streak at the expense of “Deus Da Guerra,” whom he defeated by way of a lopsided unanimous decision.

Among others, Yan’s display caught the eye of a familiar foe…

In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sandhagen broke down Yan’s victorious performance against Figueiredo.

During it, “The Sandman” pointed to a rematch opposite the Russian as a possible next assignment for him in 2025, having fallen short of staking his claim for a title shot when sharing the cage with Umar Nurmagomedov this past August.

Sandhagen previously lost to Yan in their interim title fight, which played out at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi just over three years ago.

“Congrats to Yan, maybe we’ll do it next,” Sandhagen said. “I don’t really know what the division’s going on. I haven’t really heard too much. I was hoping to hear probably sometime next week about the direction that they are going to go in because I know they were waiting on this fight to play out.

“Congrats to Yan. I still want to get that one back,” Sandhagen continued. “We’ll see if it’ll be next or not.”

Yan has already responded to one of his former opponents requesting a second dance, none other than the bantamweight champ himself.

In his continued trend of calling to face top contenders not named Umar Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili suggested his first title defense in 2025 should come against the man whom he dominantly 50-45’d on the scorecards last year.

Cory Sandhagen Believes Overestimating Umar Nurmagomedov’s Wrestling Cost Him

In his return to action in Abu Dhabi this past August, Cory Sandhagen’s three-fight winning streak came to an end. “The Sandman” has been one of the top contenders at bantamweight for a long time but in his latest outing, a new major threat emerged with his biggest win to date. The undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov […]

In his return to action in Abu Dhabi this past August, Cory Sandhagen’s three-fight winning streak came to an end. “The Sandman” has been one of the top contenders at bantamweight for a long time but in his latest outing, a new major threat emerged with his biggest win to date.

The undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov was able to skyrocket up the 135-pound rankings by decisively beating Sandhagen in the main event on August 3. The cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov showed that he isn’t just a threat on the ground by standing and striking with his opponent for long stretches in the fight.

During a recent appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, he recapped the fight and where he believes he went wrong in his preparations. Sandhagen was able to compete with Nurmagomedov in the grappling exchanges after putting a lot of time into his wrestling throughout his training camp.

However, as a result, he encountered a problem that many fighters have when going up against a wrestling specialist. In his opinion, he became so focused on this aspect of the fight that it negatively impacted his striking which is where you’d imagine him to hold an advantage in this match-up.

He found that grappling with his opponent wasn’t the issue that he had, taking advantage of the time they spent standing was. Sandhagen was happy to learn from this fight but admitted that the narrative surrounding his opponent’s dominant grappling played a major factor inside the Octagon.

“I grappled a ton, I was wrestling a lot. Just the normal s*** man like I really thought that I would have a little bit more of a edge in the striking but should have done a little bit more striking and a little bit less wrestling because the wrestling, I kind of overestimated him big time on that. Everyone talks about how strong the Dagestani guys are and stuff and I had a little bit of that swirling around in my head so I overdid that I think a little bit.”