Tag: Fight Night

Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen Booked For October Main Event

Marlon MoraesIt looks like we have quite the epic bantamweight main event coming later this year between a pair of former multiple-time kickboxing champions, as the No. 1 ranked UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes takes on the No. 4 ranked Cory Sandhagen in a five-round main event this October. Combate initially broke the news earlier today, […]

Marlon Moraes

It looks like we have quite the epic bantamweight main event coming later this year between a pair of former multiple-time kickboxing champions, as the No. 1 ranked UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes takes on the No. 4 ranked Cory Sandhagen in a five-round main event this October.

Combate initially broke the news earlier today, and it will go down at UFC Fight Night 181, October 10. These two have both been nothing but astounding in their MMA and UFC careers. Moraes almost claimed bantamweight gold just over a year ago but fell short to Henry Cejudo after having one of the most dominant first rounds in the sport’s history.

Sandhagen had a No. 1 contender fight with Aljamain Sterling two months ago in June at UFC 250, a fight he lost in round one via submission (rear naked choke).

Dana White made it clear he didn’t know who was next in line for a shot at the UFC Bantamweight Championship, when everyone knows it’s Sterling, he’s the only guy that makes real sense.

Now that Moraes is booked, it looks like we may get to see Petr Yan fight Sterling next as well. There was some back-and-forth about that, considering Moraes KO’d Sterling in just 67 seconds in their fight back in December of 2017. However, he’s gone 5-0 since, while Moraes has gone 3-1 since, having already had a title shot, and having won a very controversial decision in one of those victories.

The 32-year-old, 23-6-1 Moraes has done just about everything you can do inside of an MMA career, aside from win UFC gold. He won the WSOF Bantamweight Championship and defended it five times, a promotional record. It should be six defenses really, but his opponent for his first title defense missed weight, thus making in a non-title fight.

He’s gone 5-2 in the UFC with wins over John Dodson (split decision), Aljamain Sterling (KO), Jimmie Rivera (KO), Raphael Assuncao (guillotine choke), and Jose Aldo (split decision).

The 28-year-old, 12-2 Sandhagen has gone 5-1 inside the octagon with wins over Austin Arnett (TKO), Iuri Alcantara (TKO), Mario Bautista (armbar), John Lineker (split decision), and Raphael Assuncao (unanimous decision). As you see, their UFC records are pretty similar. Take Moraes’ UFC debut out of the equation, and they’re identical, he did avenge that loss to Assuncao.

One thing to point out about this match up, being a main event, Moraes has gone five rounds just two times in his mixed martial arts career, while Sandhagen has yet to see a five round fight. With that being said, we haven’t really seen Sandhagen tire, and we certainly have seen Moraes tired.

What do you think of this insanely entertaining five round bantamweight main event between Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen?

5 Takeaways From UFC Moscow

UFC Moscow (Fight Night 136) marked the promotion’s first venture into Russia. It was a great night of fights and certainly lived up to expectations in a country that truly appreciates and respects combat sports. PROSPECTS GALORE The UFC stacked …

UFC Moscow (Fight Night 136) marked the promotion’s first venture into Russia. It was a great night of fights and certainly lived up to expectations in a country that truly appreciates and respects combat sports. PROSPECTS GALORE The UFC stacked the card with a fair mix of Russian veterans and prospects, but it was the […]

The post 5 Takeaways From UFC Moscow appeared first on MMA News.

5 Takeaways from UFC Orlando

Mike Perry needs to evolve as a striker Over Perry’s last few bouts, it’s become increasingly clear that his headhunting ways will not be effective at the highest-level. Max Griffin absolutely picked Perry apart on Saturday, handing “Platinum” his thir…

Mike Perry needs to evolve as a striker Over Perry’s last few bouts, it’s become increasingly clear that his headhunting ways will not be effective at the highest-level. Max Griffin absolutely picked Perry apart on Saturday, handing “Platinum” his third loss in 5 bouts. The fight unfolded in a very similar manner to Perry’s previous […]

UFC Planning Return to London This March with ‘Fight Night’ Event

The UFC will return to London once more this coming March, as officials announced plans for a Fight Night event. The action goes down from The O2 on March 17, making it the 10th time that the Octagon has set up shop in London. “London is always a landm…

The UFC will return to London once more this coming March, as officials announced plans for a Fight Night event. The action goes down from The O2 on March 17, making it the 10th time that the Octagon has set up shop in London. “London is always a landmark event for UFC; the fights, fans […]

Diego Sanchez Avoids Bowel Surgery, Will Face Ross Pearson at Fight Night Albuquerque in June


(“The Dream” is not impressed by your moshing skills. Check out this bromoshop and more here.)

Less than a day after I hinted at the possibility of 2014 becoming the true year of the injury curse, Georges St. Pierre tore his ACL while training for absolutely nothing. Proof of the curse, or of my prophetic abilities as a blogger? I can’t say for certain, but I do know that the job of an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine is becoming more lucrative by the day thanks to UFC stars like Johny Hendricks, Chris Weidman, and Carlos Condit, making my decision to drop out of fancy doctor school and follow my passion of writing fart jokes for a living seem…hasty.

Thankfully, those two-bit body mechanics (technical jargon) won’t be able to get their greasy hands on Diego Sanchez, whom most assumed would be going under the knife after he was (self) poisoned by a raw quail egg and beef tartare at UFC 171. Quite the contrary, however, as Sanchez has not only managed to avoid surgery, but has already booked his next fight against TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson at a Fight Night event in his native Albuquerque on June 7th. A true “mind over matter” story if I’ve ever seen one before.

Sanchez finds himself in a unique position with the UFC, having dropped three out of his past four fights for the first time in his career. His excitement-over-strategy style has been entertaining as of late, sure, but “The Dream” better approach this fight with a more intelligent gameplan than lowering his hands and asking bros to come at him if he wants to score that win he so desperately needs.


(“The Dream” is not impressed by your moshing skills. Check out this bromoshop and more here.)

Less than a day after I hinted at the possibility of 2014 becoming the true year of the injury curse, Georges St. Pierre tore his ACL while training for absolutely nothing. Proof of the curse, or of my prophetic abilities as a blogger? I can’t say for certain, but I do know that the job of an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine is becoming more lucrative by the day thanks to UFC stars like Johny Hendricks, Chris Weidman, and Carlos Condit, making my decision to drop out of fancy doctor school and follow my passion of writing fart jokes for a living seem…hasty.

Thankfully, those two-bit body mechanics (technical jargon) won’t be able to get their greasy hands on Diego Sanchez, whom most assumed would be going under the knife after he was (self) poisoned by a raw quail egg and beef tartare at UFC 171. Quite the contrary, however, as Sanchez has not only managed to avoid surgery, but has already booked his next fight against TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson at a Fight Night event in his native Albuquerque on June 7th. A true “mind over matter” story if I’ve ever seen one before.

Sanchez finds himself in a unique position with the UFC, having dropped three out of his past four fights for the first time in his career. His excitement-over-strategy style has been entertaining as of late, sure, but “The Dream” better approach this fight with a more intelligent gameplan than lowering his hands and asking bros to come at him if he wants to score that win he so desperately needs.

Pearson, on the other hand, has not fought since his Fight Night 30 bout with Melvin Guillard was declared a No Contest due to an illegal knee that wasn’t really illegal. “The Real Deal” was scheduled to rematch Guillard at Fight Night 37: Gustafsson vs. Manuwa earlier this month until a knee injury (CURSE!!) forced him to bow out. Now that Guillard has been released by the UFC following his loss to Pearson’s replacement opponent, 46 year-old Olympic sprinter-turned 27 year-old MMA fighter Michael Johnson, the likelihood of the rematch has been downgraded to “nah, son.”

Fight Night Albuquerque transpires on June 7th and features a rematch between flyweight title challengers John Dodson and John Moraga as well as Ben Henderson vs. that guy he thought was Khabib Nurmagomedov.

–J. Jones

Barnburner Alert: Cub Swanson vs. Jeremy Stephens to Headline ‘Fight Night Something or Other’ on June 28th


(Stephens puts the stamp on TUF Brazil winner Ronny Jason, while Kenny Florian does his best Joe Silva impersonation in the background. Photo via Getty.)

Jeremy Stephens is a perfect example of a fighter who all but saved his career by dropping a weight class. While Stephens was a staple of the UFC’s lightweight division for some five years, his last three appearances all resulted in losses — a pair of one-sided decisions to Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone and a first round KO (the first of his career) at the hands of Yves Edwards.

Since making the cut to featherweight, however, “Lil Heathen” has been a man reborn (also, acquitted). With decision victories over Estevan Payan and Darren Elkins and a brutal KO over TUF Brazil winner Rony Jason (who did not take the loss well), Stephens has gone from a perennial gatekeeper to a fighter ranked just outside the top 10 on the UFC’s totally unbiased rankings system.

And now, Stephens will be given arguably the biggest fight of his career when he faces off against #4 ranked Cub Swanson in the main event of a Fight Night card scheduled for June 28th in San Antonio. The likelihood of the winner receiving a title shot? Kinda sorta maybe. The likelihood that this fight turns into a slugfest the likes of Lawler vs. Hendricks? Definitely maybe.

Swanson, on the other hand, has strung together five straight wins since dropping his UFC debut to Ricardo Lamas, including stoppage victories over Ross Pearson, Charles Oliveira, and Dennis Siver. He also has some pretty funny-lookin’ tattoos, if you ask me.

Who you like, Nation?

–J. Jones


(Stephens puts the stamp on TUF Brazil winner Ronny Jason, while Kenny Florian does his best Joe Silva impersonation in the background. Photo via Getty.)

Jeremy Stephens is a perfect example of a fighter who all but saved his career by dropping a weight class. While Stephens was a staple of the UFC’s lightweight division for some five years, his last three appearances all resulted in losses — a pair of one-sided decisions to Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone and a first round KO (the first of his career) at the hands of Yves Edwards.

Since making the cut to featherweight, however, “Lil Heathen” has been a man reborn (also, acquitted). With decision victories over Estevan Payan and Darren Elkins and a brutal KO over TUF Brazil winner Rony Jason (who did not take the loss well), Stephens has gone from a perennial gatekeeper to a fighter ranked just outside the top 10 on the UFC’s totally unbiased rankings system.

And now, Stephens will be given arguably the biggest fight of his career when he faces off against #4 ranked Cub Swanson in the main event of a Fight Night card scheduled for June 28th in San Antonio. The likelihood of the winner receiving a title shot? Kinda sorta maybe. The likelihood that this fight turns into a slugfest the likes of Lawler vs. Hendricks? Definitely maybe.

Swanson, on the other hand, has strung together five straight wins since dropping his UFC debut to Ricardo Lamas, including stoppage victories over Ross Pearson, Charles Oliveira, and Dennis Siver. He also has some pretty funny-lookin’ tattoos, if you ask me.

Who you like, Nation?

–J. Jones