Off the back of his emphatic performance tonight in Iowa, bantamweight star, Cory Sandhagen has staked his claim for an undisputed UFC title fight against the victor of next month’s clash between Merab Dvalishvili, and long-time foe, Sean O’Malley.
Sandhagen, who had been sidelined since last summer, returned to the winner’s enclosure tonight in his main event clash in Des Moines against ex-flyweight kingpin, Deiveson Figueiredo.
Most recently dropping a rather comprehensive unanimous decision loss to most recent title challenger, Umar Nurmagomedov, Sandhagen missed out on a title charge as his winning spree of three-fights was snapped.
But tonight, returning to winning-ways, Aurora native, Sandhagen dominated Brazilian star, Figueiredo — eventually capitilizing on a knee injury to the former in the second round, with the ex-champion tapping to strikes as a result.
And long staking his claim for his premiere shot at the undisputed crown, Sandhagen has previously labelled himself as Dvalishvili’s kryptonite.
To boot, the perennial challenger also claimed that a grudge fight with Montana striker, O’Malley was well overdue before his return in Des Moines.
Cory Sandhagen calls for title fight after UFC 316
And off the back of his victory, Sandhagen offered to serve as a backup fighter for UFC 316 at the beginning of next month in New Jersey, vowing to fight for the championship next time out.
He wants the belt next
@CorySandhagenX is looking at the winner of the #UFC316 main event for his next fight
[ #UFCDesMoines ] pic.twitter.com/X57NofEK3V
— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2025
Look, I’ve dreamed of being a world champion for more than half of my life now,” Cory Sandhagen said during his post-fight interview in the Octagon. “UFC, please give me an opportunity to show how great I am to the whole world, please.”
