Cory Sandhagen made his case for a championship alternative with a second-round end over Deiveson Figueiredo in the primary occasion of Saturday’s UFC return to Iowa.
The Colorado native got here out with much less motion and extra aggression than in earlier outings, exhibiting extra snap on his punches and clearly seeking to land with larger pressure as he labored from high place whereas Figueiredo unwisely continued to hunt for leg locks from his again. The identical rhythm carried over into the second spherical, with Figueiredo persevering with to pursue leg locks, and Sandhagen hammering away with strikes earlier than the 2 obtained twisted right into a 50/50 place late within the body.
As Sandhagen shifted his weight ahead, forcing Figueiredo to the canvas, the Brazilian writhed in ache, ultimately tapping out as Sandhagen rained down blows. As quickly because the battle was halted, it turned clear that the previous flyweight champion had suffered a knee harm because of getting twisted up and compelled backwards over his knee within the closing entanglement.
Following the victory, Sandhagen lobbied for the possibility to face the winner of the upcoming bantamweight title rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley, volunteering to function the backup for the early June pay-per-view foremost occasion.
Whether or not that occurs or not, Saturday’s effort cemented “The Sandman” as a respectable championship risk within the talent-rich 135-pound ranks, and it will likely be attention-grabbing to see how the UFC opts to line issues up heading into UFC 316 and what ought to be a heated summer season within the bantamweight division.
STATEMENT WIN FOR REINIER DE RIDDER
Dutch middleweight Reinier de Ridder collected his third straight UFC win and third consecutive end on Saturday night time, stopping standout prospect Bo Nickal lower than two minutes into the second spherical.
The previous ONE Championship two-division titleholder had constructive moments within the first, together with attacking the physique, reversing into high place when the 2 hit the canvas, and ultimately taking Nickal down as nicely. On the finish of the primary, Nickal appeared slightly flustered, and de Ridder capitalized on that instantly when the second started.
He pushed throughout the Octagon and began attacking the physique with knees and brief punches, clearly touchdown with pressure and chipping away on the undefeated hopeful’s vitality reserves and can. With Nickal clearly fading, de Ridder stepped right into a left knee, driving it into his opponent’s stomach, inflicting him to break down to the canvas and the battle to be stopped.
This was a press release effort for the 34-year-old from Holland, who had a ton of success exterior the UFC and was clearly unbothered by the hype surrounding Nickal heading into this one. Already stationed within the Prime 15, a date with somebody contained in the Prime 10 would make sense after a win of this magnitude, and would current a chance for de Ridder to really set up himself as a championship risk within the 185-pound weight class ought to he proceed stacking up stoppage victories.
A TACTICAL DECISION MAY HAVE COST TATE
Yana Santos scored a unanimous determination win over Miesha Tate to shut out the prelims in a bout the place the previous champion may need made a tactical error that finally value her.
After Santos managed the primary two rounds together with her hanging and takedown protection, Tate was in a position to drag her to the canvas early within the third, however after softening the Russian up with strikes, she took Santos’ again when she supplied it up, spending the rest of the spherical searching unsuccessfully for the end she wanted. On the published, Michael Bisping and Paul Felder every identified that Tate could have been higher suited to remain in mount touchdown blows, as Santos was in a position to defend the submissions and survive to the ultimate horn.
It’s an attention-grabbing level to contemplate, as on the elite stage, the power to defend chokes and keep away from hazard in these back-mount conditions is excessive, whereas a string of unanswered blows from mount usually tend to carry the referee in to halt the motion. This was an excellent win for Santos, and a 3rd spherical that’s price additional examination from a decision-making standpoint for coaches and athletes alike.
ROBERTSON CONTINUES ROLLING
Canadian Gillian Robertson rolled to her fourth straight victory on Saturday night time, gathering a second-round stoppage win over Brazilian veteran Marina Rodriguez.
The Niagara Falls, Ont., native, who fights out of Port Lucie, Florida, took the battle to the canvas early within the first and stored Rodriguez stapled to the canvas taking part in defence for the rest of the spherical. Within the second, Robertson was on the offensive even faster, climbing to mount after as soon as once more forcing her opponent to the bottom, the place she fired off a string of heavy, unanswered blows that introduced concerning the stoppage.
Robertson was extraordinarily inexperienced when she first arrived within the UFC, however has steadily added to her talent set and developed as a fighter, bettering her arms and takedown setups to turn out to be a extra totally fashioned risk. This win ought to elevate her into the Prime 10 when the rankings replace subsequent week, and her callout of former title challenger Amanda Lemos felt like a great identify to focus on following Saturday’s excellent effort.
Following the bout, Rodriguez introduced her retirement from MMA, strolling away with a 7-6-2 document within the UFC and 17-6-2 mark general.
Daniel Rodriguez picked up his second straight win and first end since July 2021 on Saturday, stopping fellow veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio with a pointy combo early within the third spherical. “D-Rod” has been a staple within the “Second 15” since arriving within the UFC, and feels poised to be stationed towards an ascending identify or ranked veteran subsequent outing after gathering a high quality win this weekend.
Make it six straight for Montel Jackson, because the Dana White’s Contender Sequence graduate earned a clear sweep of the scorecards in a largely uneventful conflict with Daniel Marcos. The 33-year-old has an abundance of instruments and scored consecutive knockout wins forward of this one, and may keep his place within the Prime 15 by holding issues transferring in the best course this weekend.
Serhiy Sidey picked up his second straight victory in Des Moines, outworking fellow bantamweight prospect Cameron Smotherman in a aggressive foremost card conflict. The Burlington native was the sharper and extra lively of the 2 all through, flashing fast arms and good timing, utilizing level-changes and takedowns to continuously stifle his opponent’s advances.
Mason Jones spoiled the UFC return and homecoming for Jeremy Stephens in the primary card opener, getting the higher of the hanging exchanges via the primary 10 minutes earlier than turning to his wrestling to salt away the win. “The Dragon” went 1-2 with one no contest in his first UFC stint earlier than incomes a second alternative with 4 straight wins underneath the Cage Warriors banner, and confirmed on Saturday that he’s matured and rounded out his sport, whereas nonetheless bringing a ton of pleasure each time he steps into the cage.
Maintain your eye on Azamat Bekoev. The 29-year-old Russian collected a second straight first-round stoppage win on Saturday, battering TUF winner Ryan Loder alongside the fence to garner his eighth straight victory general.
Excellent efficiency from Quang Le to safe his first UFC win, because the Vietnamese bantamweight leaned on his edge within the grappling division to submit Gaston Bolanos within the second spherical. After a robust exhibiting on brief discover in his debut, Le was stopped and appeared misplaced final outing, however his effort on Saturday reaffirmed his place as a strong addition to the 135-pound weight class.
Thomas Petersen manhandled Don’Story Mayes for 3 rounds, wrestling him from begin to end to earn a clear sweep of the scorecards. It was a robust bounce-back effort for the previous junior faculty nationwide champion wrestler, who moved to 2-2 contained in the Octagon with the victory.
Emotional win for TUF 30 strawweight winner Juliana Miller to open the present. The 28-year-old, who was returning to motion for the primary time since August 2023 following arm surgical procedure, devoted the unanimous determination win over Ivana Petrovic to her grandmother, with whom she was extremely shut with and who lately handed.
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