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Sandhagen back to winning ways at UFC Fight Night

ufc18 September 2022 08:05| © AFP
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Cory Sandhagen © Getty Images
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Cory Sandhagen has returned to winning form in the UFC after he claimed a TKO win over Song Yadong in the bantamweight main event of a Fight Night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on Sunday morning.

Sandhagen moves to 15-4 with the victory, recovering from back-to-back losses at the hands of T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan, while Song sees the end of a three-fight winning streak and falls to 19-7.

The Chinese fighter sustained a nasty cut above his eye in round two – opened up by a standing upward elbow from ‘The Sandman’ – which got progressively worse and ultimately forced referee Herb Dean to call an end to the fight via doctor’s stoppage before round five could get underway.

It was a tough call against Song, who had wobbled Sandhagen with his striking through the first two rounds, though the American’s smart game plan of mixing up his attack and throwing in a lot of wrestling was ultimately what gave him the edge throughout.

"I hate that it ended that way. He deserved a fifth round," Sandhagen said after the fight. "I robbed the guy of his power. He is one hell of a striker."

Sandhagen suggested a return to competition around Christmas and named Marlon Vera or Merab Dvalishvili as potential opponents. He also alluded to fighting the four bantamweights competing at UFC 280: Sean O'Malley, Aljamain Sterling, T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan.

The rest of the main card featured a TKO win for Gregory Rodrigues over Chidi Njokuani in the middleweight co-main event; Andre Fili edged Bill Algeo via split decision in the featherweight division; Joseph Pyfer stopped fellow middleweight Alen Amedovski; Rodrigo Nascimento got the better of Tanner Boser via split decision in the heavyweight category; and Anthony Hernandez submitted Marc-Andre Barriault in a middleweight opener.

The next UFC event is a Fight Night at the APEX Facility on the morning of Sunday 2 October, headlined by a women’s strawweight clash between Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan.

UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen v Song – Main card

- Main event: Bantamweight: Cory Sandhagen def. Song Yadong via TKO (doctor stoppage), R4, 5:00

- Middleweight: Gregory Rodrigues def. Chidi Njokuani via TKO (punches), R2, 1:27

- Featherweight: Andre Fili def. Bill Algeo via split decision (28-29 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Middleweight: Joseph Pyfer def. Alen Amedovski via TKO (punches), R1, 3:55

- Heavyweight: Rodrigo Nascimento def. Tanner Boser via split decision (30-27 28-29 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez def. Marc-Andre Barriault via technical submission (arm-triangle choke), R3, 1:53

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