Cory Sandhagen, the former interim bantamweight title challenger, is set to headline UFC Des Moines against Deiveson Figueiredo, the former two-time undisputed flyweight champion. Presently, “The Sandman” holds a professional MMA record of 17 wins and five losses. Before the anticipated bantamweight bout, let’s take a look at how Sandhagen has fared in the UFC.
Born and raised in Aurora, Colorado, Sandhagen played basketball at Smoky Hill High School. Soon after, he trained in taekwondo before switching to boxing. He was a WKA world champion before transitioning to MMA.
A Closer Look at Cory Sandhagen’s UFC Career
Cory Sandhagen entered the UFC with a 7-1 record, coming off two impressive TKO victories in Legacy Fighting Alliance, with seven of those eight fights being at featherweight. Notably, Sandhagen was the Sparta Combat League featherweight champion. Though he debuted at featherweight for the UFC, Sandhagen moved down in weight class for his next fight.
After TKO victories over Austin Arnett and Iuri Alcântara at UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2 and UFC Fight Night 135, respectively, Sandhagen submitted Mario Bautista at UFC Fight Night 143. He earned a Performance of the Night bonus for his victory over Alcântara.
“The Sandman’s” next two fights went the full distance. He defeated John Lineker by split decision at UFC Fight Night 150, followed by a unanimous decision win over Raphael Assunção at UFC 241 on the prelims.
Next for Sandhagen was a highly anticipated matchup against “The Funk Master,” Aljamain Sterling, at UFC 250 — his first appearance on a PPV main card. Unfortunately, Sterling defeated Sandhagen in the first round via rear-naked choke. Sterling went on to win the bantamweight title from Petr Yan before losing it to Sean O’Malley after three title defenses.
The loss to Sterling lit a fire under Sandhagen, and he earned Performance of the Night bonuses in his next two fights. First, he TKOed Marlon Moraes, a former title challenger, via spinning back kick and punches in his first main event at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs Sandhagen. Next, Frankie Edgar fell victim to Sandhagen’s flying knee in the UFC Fight Night 184 co-main event.
Former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was next for Sandhagen at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs Dillashaw. Dillashaw had trained with Sandhagen previously, and it was also his first fight after serving a doping suspension. In a close battle, Dillashaw eked out a split decision win.
Despite the loss, favorable circumstances landed “The Sandman” in an interim title fight at UFC 267 against Petr Yan, the former undisputed champion. Sandhagen lost via unanimous decision.
The 34-year-old became a big enough name after UFC 267 that his next four fights were all main events. He reeled off three victories before losing a number-one contender bout to Umar Nurmagomedov.
Before the loss to Nurmagomedov, Sandhagen had defeated Song Yadong, Marlon Vera, and Rob Font. At UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Song, the referee stopped the fight on the cageside doctor’s advice, handing Sandhagen a TKO win over Yadong.
The victory over Vera came via a controversial split decision at UFC on ESPN: Vera vs Sandhagen. Though Sandhagen seemingly dominated the fight, one judge scored it differently. His bout against Font at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs Font was his only catchweight fight. Nurmagomedov was the original opponent, but he withdrew due to injury, and Font stepped in for a 140-pound bout.
Going into UFC Des Moines against Deiveson Figueiredo, Sandhagen is a huge betting favorite. Like Sandhagen, Figueiredo is also coming off a loss — a decision defeat to Petr Yan at UFC Fight Night 248.