Cory Sandhagen
USA
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.
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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.
Hangs tough in decision loss
Sandhagen lost to Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (45-50, 46-49, 46-49) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
ANALYSIS
Entering as upwards of a +300 underdog, Sandhagen fought as well as could have reasonably been expected. He did a brilliant job of warding off takedown attempts from Nurmagomedov and not settling for a disadvantageous position. Sandhagen wasn't pinned to the mat for any real length of time until there was just a few minutes remaining in the fight. The issue for Cory was his inability to land any real damaging blows on the feet. He was pretty much one-and-done and appeared to be constantly reaching for his opponent. The bout was far more competitive than the scorecards would lead you to believe, but Umar began to pull away late. Sandhagen is unquestionably one of the best bantamweights in the world, but he's had all sorts of difficult winning the "big" fight over the course of his six-plus year UFC run. He is still looking for that one massive career-defining victory, which once again eluded him this evening.
Entering as upwards of a +300 underdog, Sandhagen fought as well as could have reasonably been expected. He did a brilliant job of warding off takedown attempts from Nurmagomedov and not settling for a disadvantageous position. Sandhagen wasn't pinned to the mat for any real length of time until there was just a few minutes remaining in the fight. The issue for Cory was his inability to land any real damaging blows on the feet. He was pretty much one-and-done and appeared to be constantly reaching for his opponent. The bout was far more competitive than the scorecards would lead you to believe, but Umar began to pull away late. Sandhagen is unquestionably one of the best bantamweights in the world, but he's had all sorts of difficult winning the "big" fight over the course of his six-plus year UFC run. He is still looking for that one massive career-defining victory, which once again eluded him this evening.
Return finally scheduled
Sandhagen (triceps) is scheduled to compete against Umar Nurmagomedov in a five-round bantamweight fight at UFC Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3, per Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com.
ANALYSIS
After over eight months recovering from a tricep injury, Sandhagen has been scheduled a fight for a date that would make it just under a year since his last bout, a win over Rob Font at UFC on ESPN 50 in Nashville. Nurmagomedov expected to compete against Sandhagen then before the former withdrew because of a shoulder injury.
After over eight months recovering from a tricep injury, Sandhagen has been scheduled a fight for a date that would make it just under a year since his last bout, a win over Rob Font at UFC on ESPN 50 in Nashville. Nurmagomedov expected to compete against Sandhagen then before the former withdrew because of a shoulder injury.