Cory
Sandhagen believes he will be on the cusp of a title shot with
a spectacular performance on Saturday.
Sandhagen (17-5) headlines
UFC Des Moines on Saturday against Deiveson
Figueiredo (24-4-1) at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines,
Iowa. “The Sandman” considers himself worthy of the next
bantamweight title shot if he beats the former flyweight champ in
emphatic fashion. Sandhagen also notes that he is the only top
contender in his weight class that hasn’t fought champ Merab
Dvalishvili yet.
Dvalishvili is set to defend his title against Sean
O’Malley at UFC 316 in June, in a rematch of their 2024
encounter where Dvalishvili claimed a decision. If O’Malley
prevails, Sandhagen believes a matchup against “Sugar” would
delight fans. Sandhagen appeared on Demetrious
Johnson’s podcast “Mightycast” on
Thursday, where he broke down the title picture in his division and
where he thinks he stands up against the past and present
beltholders.
“If I go out and I demolish Figueiredo, if I go beat Figueiredo by
a mile or I knock him out or I submit him, I don’t think it’s way
out of the realm of possibility that I be the next guy to fight for
the belt,” Sandhagen remarked. “Especially, just considering I’m
the only one that hasn’t fought Merab yet in the top five. And then
also, the entire world wants to watch me and O’Malley fight. I
don’t think there’s too many more exciting fights that you can make
in the UFC… I think the timing and luck is gonna play out for me
this time. I go out, I kick Figgy’s ass, then I think I could
definitely be the next guy.”
Sandhagen is looking to rebound from a decision loss to future
title challenger Umar
Nurmagomedov, one that snapped a three-fight win streak.
Meanwhile, “Deus da Guerra” strung together three straight
victories since moving up to bantamweight, only to have his own
championship aspirations temporarily halted when Petr Yan
outworked him on the scorecards.