Men's bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen hopes to lose for the first time since 2023, when he was held with former men's pilot champion Deiveson Figueiredo at the main event at UFC Fight Night in DES Moines, Iowa on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night (10 ES ESPN2/ESPN+ on ESPN2/ESPN2/ESPN2/ESPN2/ESPN2).
ESPN's No. 5 bantamweight Sandhagen entered the battle after a unanimous decision with Umar Nurmagomedov on UFC battle night last August. Before giving up on the fight, he rode a three-game winning streak, including victory over the songs Yadong and Marlon "Chito" Vera. Figureiredo, ranked sixth, also lost. Petr Yan defeated him by unanimous decision on a UFC fight night last November.
Brett Okamoto talks with former UFC men’s bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw to get his opinion on the main event. ESPN betting expert Ian Parker adds insight and analysis on the fight and other interesting bets he likes on the card.
Editor's Note: The response has been edited to be concise and clear.
How Sandhagen wins: I love Sandhagen, not only an athlete, but also a human. I had to hit him once, but we trained for a few years before that. He needs to use his creativity and perspective to maintain his position in this battle. Given the shorter number of Figeiredo, his big knee would be big in the middle. He couldn't stand in front of Figueiredo and let him shoot. Sandhagen has the advantage of touching, so don't over-promise and hit those popular shots, flashy pretendings, just make all of them unpredictable. Sandhagen's striking look is so smooth. He did a great job of switching positions and getting his back out of the cage.
How Figueiredo wins: Safely close the distance away from Sandakan's knees. Figueiredo must set his fist; he can't just shoot. He needs to put his hands on Corey first and make him believe in his strength because Figueredo has strength and even gains weight. Let Sandhagen respect his power and knock him down. He needs to defeat the battle for a number of reasons. I don't think he can keep up with Sundagan's footsteps. But once Figueredo lets him down, his jiu-jitsu is second to none. He has good control and submissions, which is a weakness that Corey showed in previous battles.
x factor: For Sandhagen, this is his cardio and combat IQ. He is now working with Trevor Wittman and I'm sure they have come up with a great game plan. For Figueiredo, this is his Jiu-Jitsu. Cody Garbrandt had a hard time knocking down and keeping it down - he was like a cat, and he quickly got up - Figueiredo managed to take him away and surrender.
prophecy: I leaned Sandhagen here due to my aerobics and mentality. When he was in the game, he was unparalleled and I think he believed in himself now.
As of May 1, the odds are accurate. For the latest odds, visit ESPN BET.
Sandhagen won (-550); more than 2.5 rounds. It feels like anyone who has lost this fight has seen their last chance to pursue a UFC championship. Sandhagen is a close to 5-1 favorite, which makes sense. Outside of the Fluke KO strike in Figueiredo, Sandhagen is better everywhere and knows how to get out of trouble. Looking for Sandhagen to use his shock and decide the pace of winning. If he is going to finish Figuerodo, I say it's in round 4 or 5. But to knock down the road, let's win with Sandhagen and over 2.5 rounds to make these bets anchor for our parlay.
Nickel wins (-340). Nickal asked to step up his efforts in the game, and he was getting that. De Ridder will win in Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland back-to-back wins, but I think the submission and victory streak ends here. Just as good as De Ridder in his two UFC fights and in one of his championship games, he was a two-division champion, there is also a reason why Nickal is seen as "that guy". Nickal may not have the technical blow from De Ridder, but his skills are enough to keep opponents honest and may have the advantage of speed and strength. On top of that, Nickal's world-class wrestling (he has been three-time NCAA Division I national champion) is too strong for De Ridder, who has a great defensive performance in the Jiu-Jitsu department so I can't see him being submitted. It feels like a Nickal's decision to win, but for safety, let him win his money line and add him to our parlay.
ponzinibbio wins (-115). It should be an interesting stand-up battle with two UFC veterans hosting a show for fans. I was surprised by the betting line because I thought Ponzinibbio would be a bigger favorite, but on the odds of almost coin, I like this place. Ponzinibbio has battles everywhere, and Rodriguez has lost three of his last four games and looks a bit slow in his last fight, and I think Ponzinibbio has added another KO/TKO to his resume.