Cory Sandhagen re-entered the title picture at bantamweight with a stellar knockout over Marlon Moraes at UFC Fight Island 5.
Top bantamweight contenders squared off in the main event of UFC Fight Island 5 as Marlon Moraes battled Cory Sandhagen. Moraes has been fantastic since coming over to the UFC from WSOF, going 5-2 with three stellar finishes. However, his last fight, a controversial split decision over Jose Aldo, has been treated like a loss, with Aldo getting a title shot and Moraes needing more fights to get into the title picture.
Cory Sandhagen has had an impressive rise to the top of the bantamweight division and was looking to re-assert himself as a top-contender after his first-round loss against Aljamain Sterling. Before that bout, he had five wins with three finishes, joining the UFC in 2018.
The kicks of Sandhagen seemed to be the story early in this fight. Moraes looked to come over the top with some strikes, but the height of Sandhagen made it hard to do so. Moraes spent a great deal of time looking for counters, with Sandhagen commiting to the body. Moraes tried to overcome the early success of Sandhagen with a late takedown, but there was almost no time to do anything with it.
Sandhagen shot into the second round with lots of confidence. He landed a question mark kick and then announced to Moraes that he believes he broke his orbital bone. Moraes didn’t react. Sandhagen then landed a spinning wheel kick and Moraes did a backwards somersault. Sandhagen jumped in with some finishing blows.
Sandhagen had a few names in mind after the fight, asking for the winner of Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling, and adding that Frankie Edgar and TJ Dillashaw make sense in the meantime.
Cory Sandhagen def. Marlon Moraes by TKO (Spinning Wheel Kick and Punches) in Round 2 (1:03)
