The definition of mixed martial arts is, well, mixing the martial arts. We all know this. Every fighter in every promotion knows how to wrestle, punch, elbow and kick. Yet even in a generalist environment, these athletes all have their niches. Even the best of them. Charles Oliveira is known for his jiu jitsu. Petr Yan is known for his boxing. Islam Makhachev is known for his wrestling. Don’t misunderstand me, that does not mean they are slouches in other areas. They just clearly favor one discipline over the others. Enter Sandman, Cory Sandhagen. Sandhagen is an outlier from what I just alluded to above, because I believe he is more versatile (not saying he’s better, though). The man is not unbeatable, but he doesn’t really seem to have a true weakness, at least not at present. He’s adept in all areas; in the clinch, on the ground, and on the feet. Although technically a kickboxer by trade, as a former WKA world champion, Sandhagen approaches the game with an intelligence that is rarely seen, even in a division as chock-full of talent as bantamweight. The guy has to be a dream to coach. I never worry about Cory the way I would with other fighters. Wherever the fight leads, I trust Cory’s ability to make the best decision given the circumstances. At times, it almost looks as though he is coaching himself in real time, reminiscent of what Tim Welch probably thinks he’d fight like. The stand up game is probably where I would say Sandhagen excels the most, if I had to choose. It makes sense given his pedigree. Even in this one area, he displays his trademark versatility. He varies his weapons extremely well. He isn’t too heavy on boxing, like Dustin Poirier or Max Holloway, or reliant on flashy kicks like Yair Rodriguez. He’s the flow state, seamlessly interchanging punches, elbows, knees and kicks in balance, attacking all target areas. Sandhagen’s striking is crisp and technical, and he generally makes the right move at the right time. His ground game, too, is expansive, with a brazilian jiu jitsu brown belt that he actually attempts to utilize. For a lanky man, he has good wrestling, particularly on the defensive side of things, and he can usually find a way back to his feet even if taken down. A prime example of this is his fight with Umar Nurmagomedov. Anyone with that last name may as well be the final boss in Elden Ring. Good luck stopping that grappling. While Cory didn’t stop it, he certainly slowed it down. Even though he lost that fight, he overall did an excellent job of keeping Nurmagomedov off of him, and quickly fought his way back up even when he found himself taken down. Sandhagen may lose, but barely, and only to the absolute elite in the division. Ever since his 2020 round one submission loss to former champion Aljamain Sterling, Sandhagen elevated his game into the presence we see today. Oftentimes, we see future champions rebound from a loss, or take that next step in maturity to become a true title challenger. That loss seemed to do just that for Sandhagen. That’s not to say he did not go undefeated, but he was a markedly improved athlete. Sandhagen had exactly three losses since 2020, all by decision, and all in close fights. After rattling off back-to-back performances of the night against Marlon Moraes & hall of famer Frankie Edgar, Sandhagen lost via split decision to former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw in 2021, in a fight that could have gone either way (17 of 23 media outlets actually scored it for Cory). In his subsequent bout, he faced Yan, another former champion, in an entertaining scrap in which Yan’s heavier strikes proved the necessary edge. He would tally three straight victories over quality opponents in Rob Font, Marlon Vera (which admittedly isn’t saying much these days) and Song Yadong, before losing to Umar, who arguably beats everyone else in the division besides Merab Dvalishvili, the current champion.
His opponent last Saturday night, Deiveson Figueiredo, is yet another killer in the murderer’s row that is the Bantamweight division. A former two-time flyweight champion in a division that he was probably too large for, Figueiredo seemed to be comfortable in a higher weight class. Plus, it was refreshing to see him fight someone not named Brandon Moreno. Interestingly, Figueiredo & Sandhagen’s recent history at bantamweight is rather intertwined. Both have wins over Font & Vera, but lost against Yan. Figueiredo’s last fight before this one was actually against Yan, in a competitive fight in which he dropped a decision. Yan, for his part, is one of the best fighters the division has ever seen. At one point considered nigh invincible until the Aljamain Sterling incident, he remains a force to be reckoned with. Losing to him is no shame. Yet, we know that Figueiredo is not what he used to be. His move up to bantamweight may have enhanced his physical capabilities, as he no longer has to endure such a grueling weight cut. In my opinion, it is too little too late, as the man is 37 years of age and definitely shows a bit of decline. Make no mistake, he was ranked number five in the world at bantamweight, with wins over good opponents. He just isn’t the worldbreaker he once was at 125. Figgy’s clear cut decision loss to Yan showed that he is a level below the absolute best, and his bout against Sandhagen confirmed this.
“How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?” seems to apply to this fight. Honestly, I am not sure what Figgy was thinking on Saturday night. For a savvy veteran, this isn’t exactly the type of fight to screw around and find out. He essentially fought like an overzealous blue belt, excited to spam leg locks for the first time. Mind you, Figgy has been a pro since 2012. Of his 24 wins, 18 have come by way of finish, with exactly nine each for knockout/TKO and submission. He has a toolkit. He has many ways to win. To hold on to a leg for dear life during the first round is not how I would imagine a former champion would fight. After a standoffish beginning of the opening round, Figueiredo was able to take his opponent’s back and get him to the ground off of a single leg takedown. Sandhagen once again showed maturity and patience in fighting his way back to his feet, waiting as Figueiredo tried to jump on his back again, using this to take his opponent down instead. For the rest of the round Figueiredo tried to conduct a leg lock seminar. That’s quite literally what he did. Not land strikes from the ground, nor try to sweep or scramble back to his feet. I am not sure if he felt he had something to prove, but it was quite confusing. While Figueiredo is a black belt, leg locks are not a submission that have proven to be particularly reliable in the UFC. Important to bear in mind, Sandhagen is trained by Ryan Hall, a third-degree black belt, UFC veteran and ADCC bronze medalist. Sandhagen even spoke about his training with Hall, and how he accrued experience with leg locks training day after day with him. As a result, Figueiredo was likely not heel hooking Sandhagen. The best he did was hold him in place, while getting hit in the face beneath Sandhagen. Overall, Sandhagen landed 54 significant strikes to Figueiredo’s six, and controlled the vast majority of the ground fighting.
The second round went much the same. Figueiredo once again took Sandhagen down, attempted the same game plan, and came up empty. After scrambling back to his feet (I was happy he seemed to abandon heel hooks, if only for a moment) he was taken down again by Sandhagen. Figueiredo went for the same seemingly improvised game plan by attacking the legs, which came back to bite him. Leg locks are a very delicate game that I won’t pretend to entirely grasp (intricate leg locks were usually reserved for higher belts, and I did not make it that far). I do know that it can be a bit like playing with fire, as rolling or bending the wrong way when your bodies are tied into a pretzel can easily result in joint or ligament damage. That appears to be what happened to Figueiredo, as he cried out in pain and seemed to verbally tap, resulting in a TKO (knee injury) win for Sandhagen.
I truly wish I understood Portuguese so I could hear exactly what Figueiredo’s corner was advising him during these grappling exchanges. I do believe Figueiredo could hang with Sandhagen on the feet, he is a world class former champion with ample experience. Figueiredo dropped Marlon Vera, after all, a man whose chin will seemingly not allow him to get knocked out. Figueiredo actually clipped Sandhagen in the second round with a clean right hook. So, he did have the ability to have success on the feet. He just didn’t give himself the chance to actually try anything. I understand the danger Cory presents as such a sniper of a striker, so I did not dislike the decision to take the fight to the ground. It’s what was done once the fight was there that I disagreed with. Figueiredo had so many better options to go with once on top. Ground and pound, passing guard (and the whole array of submissions once there, i.e. arm triangle) would both have been far better options. How often do you see a UFC fighter fall back for leg locks once they have taken an opponent down? I will answer: not many. To hammer it home, I thought Figueiredo should at least have exhausted all other more viable options before even attempting a heel hook. One would think that after getting punched in the face on the ground so many times, he would have at least tried to course correct. A very out of character decision that he ended up paying for. To his credit, Sandhagen has been in the title conversation for years now, and was only a signature win or two away from becoming undeniable. The man can explain mma like a coach and execute like an athlete. I’m not saying he is an otherworldly guru, but after listening to him explain the game enough times, Sandhagen clearly processes his craft better than most. He improves with each fight, and although he may not be the absolute best in the world (who knows?) I believe he has the most extensive arsenal at the top of his division. He can defensively wrestle and scramble better than O’Malley. I’d favor him in pure striking over anyone in the division except perhaps O’Malley and Yan, and mixes up his weapons better than either. Whereas Yan took 5 rounds to defeat Figueiredo, Sandhagen dismantled him in a way never seen. Cardio is never a question for Cory, and Nurmagomedov has already had his shot at gold. I don’t see why Sandhagen can’t be champion, or at least given the opportunity. Enter Sandman, exit a champion.
