Sandhagen says win over Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines could get him title shot
Two of the most skilled fighters in all of mixed martial arts are set to square off in a Fight Night main event this weekend when Cory Sandhagen faces Deiveson Figueiredo as the UFC makes its debut in Des Moines, Iowa.
Two of the most skilled fighters in all of mixed martial arts are set to square off in a Fight Night main event this weekend as the UFC makes its debut in Des Moines, Iowa.
Cory Sandhagen is about as high-level a fighter as you’ll find who has yet to compete for an undisputed UFC title, while Deiveson Figueiredo is a former flyweight champion who has been giving top bantamweights issues for the past couple of years since moving up in weight.
Sandhagen, 33 from Colorado, has been defeated four times during his seven-year, 14-fight UFC career, yet he has lost exclusively to future or former champions or No. 1 contenders. He’s coming off a five-round unanimous decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in a title eliminator bout 10 months ago, a performance that has left a bad taste in Sandhagen’s mouth.
Although the scorecards don’t make it seem like it was a competitive fight (50-45, 49-46, 49-46), Sandhagen wasn’t dominated by Nurmagomedov by any means, although he was taken down in each of the five rounds — albeit while limiting control time — and was not quite as aggressive in the striking department as he typically is.
“I think I kinda let frustration beat me a little bit too much in that one,” Sandhagen told Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter this week when looking back to his loss to Nurmagomedov. “I kind of got a little bit outside of my game plan and outside of myself just because I had a few things ringing in my ear I should’ve taken care of before that fight. I’ve lost a few close split decisions, and just close decisions in general, so me fighting in Abu Dhabi and fighting a guy who’s from that area and all of that stuff made me think I needed to win by a more significant margin than what I needed to and it kinda took me outside of myself and it caused a lot of frustration and it just snowballed from there.
“I would say it was a mental error. I wrestled good with Umar, didn’t strike that great with him. … It’s a bummer because that was such a winnable fight for me.”
Sandhagen describes himself as a perfectionist, adding that he can also get frustrated when sparring and training, but has been working with a sports psychologist to improve that aspect of his game.
Saturday’s meeting with Figueiredo is no easy task despite Sandhagen being listed as a significant betting favourite, and he thinks a title shot is realistic if he gets back in the win column.
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Sandhagen enters the weekend as the No. 4-ranked contender in the 135-pound division; Figueiredo is ranked No. 5.
Undisputed men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is set to defend the belt in a rematch with top contender and former champ Sean O’Malley in the main event of June’s UFC 316.
Dvalishvili is coming off a title defence against Nurmagomedov in January, while O’Malley has not fought since losing the title via unanimous decision to Dvalishvili in the UFC 306 main event this past September at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
If O’Malley can get a second title shot against the reigning champion while coming off a non-controversial loss to that same champion, then Sandhagen can certainly make a case for facing the winner of Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2 with an impressive victory over a credentialled star like Figueiredo.
The 37-year-old from Brazil proved his mettle at 135 pounds with consecutive wins over Rob Font, former champ Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Vera before dropping a five-round decision loss to two-time titleholder Petr Yan in November. Figueiredo is less likely to get back into the immediate title hunt with a win this weekend, however, a win over Sandhagen would position him for a title eliminator-type matchup based on the rankings alone.
Figueiredo’s only other setbacks in the past six years were during his four-fight championship series with Brandon Moreno, not to mention he holds a past UFC win over the dominant reigning flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja.
UNDERCARD OVERVIEW
Bo in the co-main: Standout middleweight Bo Nickal returns to action in the penultimate bout of the night against standout submission artist Reinier de Ridder. Nickal is unbeaten through seven pro fights. Fans last saw him compete at UFC 309 when he won a lacklustre striking battle against Paul Craig. It was the first time in Nickal’s MMA career that he went the distance.
De Ridder is 16-2 overall but has never lost at 185 pounds. Both his career losses were to two-weight ONE champion Anatoly Malykhin; one was contested at 205 pounds and the other at 225 pounds. The 34-year-old from the Netherlands went 2-0 in 2024 during his UFC rookie campaign with submission wins over Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland. He should represent Nickel’s toughest challenge to date.
Stephens, Jones making UFC comebacks: It has been nearly four years since Jeremy Stephens last competed inside the Octagon, and the veteran knockout artist is making his foray back to MMA after a recent successful run as a bareknuckle boxer. Stephens made his UFC debut in 2007, has faced a who’s who of top lightweights and featherweights during his career, and he’s coming off a BKFC stoppage of former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez.
Stephens, 38, is set to take on 30-year-old Welshman Mason Jones, who’s returning to the UFC for the first time in three years. Jones went 1-2 with one no-contest during his initial four-fight UFC run from January 2021 to July 2022. He has since racked up four wins in the Cage Warriors organization to earn a second crack in the big show.
Another former champ in action: Figueiredo isn’t the lone former UFC titleholder on Saturday’s card. One-time women’s bantamweight champ Miesha Tate is back and headlining the prelims against Yana Santos (née Kunitskaya). Tate, 38, has fought only four times since 2016 and hasn’t been in the title picture since around that time, nearly a full decade ago, but she did win her most recent appearance with a face-crank submission over Julia Avila 17 months ago. Former UFC champions are just 3-6 thus far in 2025 — Brandon Moreno, Jiri Prochazka and Alexander Volkanovski are the lone ex-champs to win a fight as of the end of April.
Canadian content: A pair of Canucks are in action this weekend, too, when Gillian Robertson and Serhiy Sidey step into the cage for their respective bouts. Robertson will look to extend her current winning streak at strawweight to four when she faces Marina Rodriguez, who has lost four of her past five. Sidey, 1-1 in the UFC with a pair of split decisions, takes on Cameron Smotherman in what should be a fast-paced and fan-friendly bantamweight scrap.
Sportsnet’s coverage of Saturday’s fight card begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Projected bout order for UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo below…
MAIN CARD
— Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
— Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal
— Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
— Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos
— Cameron Smotherman vs. Serhiy Sidey
— Jeremy Stephens vs. Mason Jones
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate
— Ryan Loder vs. Azamat Bekoev
— Marina Rodriguez vs. Gillian Robertson
— Gaston Bolanos vs. Quang Le
— Thomas Petersen vs. Don’Tale Mayes
— Juliana Miller vs. Ivana Petrovic
