Cory Sandhagen submitted Mario Bautista in the first-round at UFC Brookleyn, debuting the UFC on ESPN era in style. Now, we’re waiting to see who the promotion will give him next.
If anyone understands making their UFC debut on short-notice, it’s Cory Sandhagen. He did so in January of 2018, earning a win just eight days after doing the same thing in Legacy Fighting Alliance. A similar task was asked of Mario Bautista at UFC Brooklyn. The 25-year-old made his promotional debut on about a week’s notice, replacing veteran John Lineker on the card.
While the bout didn’t go as he would’ve liked, this is hardly the end for the previously undefeated Bautista. Dana White and Co. know this was a difficult matchup for Bautista, and will likely give him another shot in the promotion later this year. If not, the LFA and Combate veteran won’t be far from forcing the promotion’s hand with another win or two outside the promotion.
Sandhagen came into the bout coming off of back-to-back wins, earning victories in both of his UFC fights in 2018. Most recently, the five-foot-11 bantamweight defeated Iuri Alcantara in impressive comeback fashion in August of last year. So impressive, that the promotion was willing to pit him against a top-ten ranked opponent on their first card on ESPN.
The promotion is clearly high on Sandhagen, and although he was a -500 favorite coming into UFC Brooklyn, earning a victory in the UFC never hurts. At the very least, Sandhagen has shown himself to be just as deserving of a matchup with the likes of John Lineker as he was before UFC Brooklyn.
Sandhagen came out the aggressor, mixing up his kicks and punches early in round one. Bautista replied with a few counters, but Sandhagen controlled the center of the Octagon. Sandhagen then landed a flying knee that dropped Bautista to the ground, beginning a ground-battle that would decide the fight.
OHHHH huge flying knee from @Cors_Life! #UFCBrooklyn pic.twitter.com/a7sZNcBBOd
— UFC (@ufc) January 20, 2019
Going back and forth, Sandhagen looked the stronger fighter on the ground, putting Bautista in a few compromising positions in the first stanza. Working for a kimura, Sandhagen forced Bautista to the ground, stepped over, and had the promotional debutant tapping to an arm-bar in seconds.
Cory Sandhagen has impressed in each of his three UFC bouts, giving the promotion plenty of reason to give him tougher opponents in the future. Whether John Lineker is still game remains to be seen. After his quick submission of Mario Bautista at UFC Brooklyn, we know we’d like to see the prospect face a ranked opponent in his next bout.
Cory Sandhagen def. Mario Bautista by Submission (armbar), Round 1, 3:31
