Cory Sandhagen made a statement of intent with an impressive victory over Deiveson Figueiredo in the bantamweight main event of a UFC Fight Night at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, on the morning of Sunday 4 May 2025.
‘The Sandman’ shut down Figueiredo's leg lock attempts, poured on offence and clearly claimed a dominant first round. In the second, while tangled in a 50-50 position induced by leg attacks, Sandhagen reversed positions. Figueiredo quickly submitted while shouting in pain. The referee ruled the fight a TKO win for Sandhagen due to a knee injury for the Brazilian.
Sandhagen (18-5) has lost four times in the UFC. Each time, the person who beat him subsequently fought for the UFC bantamweight title. A decisive win on Saturday, even with the unusual stoppage, was crucial after losing to Umar Nurmagomedov, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili's last title challenger.
"I've dreamed of being a world champion for more than half my life now," Sandhagen said after the win. "UFC, please, give me an opportunity to show how great I am to the whole world. Please."
He added, “Nothing fires you up like a loss. I have a really good team behind me. We work our butts off. I'm going to be a champion one day.
"I'm ready to win that belt. Sean O'Malley or Merab, I want the winner. I'll be the backup if they want.”
The rest of the main card saw Reinier de Ridder stop Bo Nickal with a knee-to-the-body KO in the second round of their middleweight match; Daniel Rodriguez claimed a TKO win over Santiago Ponzinibbio in the welterweight division; Montel Jackson outpointed fellow bantamweight Daniel Marcos; Thomas Petersen had a dominant unanimous decision triumph over Don’Tale Mayes in the heavyweight division; and the women’s flyweight opener had Juliana Miller defeat Ivana Petrovic via unanimous decision.
Next week brings UFC 315, set for the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on the morning of Sunday 11 May, and headlined by fights for the Welterweight Championship (Belal Muhammad v Jack Della Maddalena) and Women’s Flyweight Championship (Valentina Shevchenko v Manon Fiorot).
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Sandhagen v Figueiredo – MAIN CARD RESULTS
MAIN EVENT:
BANTAMWEIGHT: Cory Sandhagen def. Deiveson Figueiredo via TKO (knee injury), R2, 4:08
MIDDLEWEIGHT: Reinier de Ridder def. Bo Nickal via KO (knee to the body), R2, 1:53
WELTERWEIGHT: Daniel Rodriguez def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via TKO (punches), R3, 1:12
BANTAMWEIGHT: Montel Jackson def. Daniel Marcos via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 30-27), R3, 5:00
HEAVYWEIGHT: Thomas Petersen def. Don’Tale Mayes via unanimous decision (30-25 30-26 30-26), R3, 5:00
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT: Juliana Miller def. Ivana Petrovic via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00