Des Moines — Bantamweight Cory Sandhagen got back in the win column, and back in the title picture, with a win over Deiveson Figueiredo in the UFC Des Moines main event on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Arena.
The promotion’s debut in Des Moines came to a rather abrupt end when Figueiredo appeared to go down due to injury in the second round, clutching his knee. But as Sandhagen (18-5) later explained, the ailment was anything but a fluke.
The American expressed surprise, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight, that Deiveson had continued to attack Sandhagen’s own leg. “He didn’t have that at all. I don’t really know what he was doing. Even when I was hitting him, he wasn’t stopping, my arm hurts from hitting him with it. I don’t know really what that was about, but you’re not going to beat me at leg locks ever,” stated Sandhagen, who went on to explain how he brought about the finish.
“It was like a pop submission. The position is called 50/50. If you don’t know how to play 50/50, you’re going to pop your knee,” Sandhagen outlined.
“That wasn’t like an accidental thing. That was like, ‘hey Figgy, you’re either going to sit down on your butt, or we’re popping your knee. And that’s what happened.”
Sandhagen excels at that particular position thanks in part to who he trains with, he added. “I win at 50/50 every time, against all these guys. I train with the guy who invented the thing, Ryan Hall, so you will not beat me at 50/50. You can attack my legs all you want, those are very technical spots and I’m very good at those spots, so you’re not going to win there. At no point was I in danger.”
With a victory over a former UFC champion, Cory Sandhagen is now looking for a title shot, outright as opposed to taking on a back-up role for the upcoming Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley rematch. Perhaps at the expense of former champ Petr Yan, who is also vying for a title fight.
“I think I deserve the title shot next regardless. Who else is there? Umar [Nurmagomedov] just fought for the belt, lost. [Petr] Yan is coming off of a win, but also lost to both of the guys that are fighting, so I don’t know how exciting that would be,” noted Sandhagen. “And then I finished Figgy in a round and a half, Yan didn’t finish Figgy. Yan got dropped by Figgy, Figgy I think maybe hit me one time. So I showed that I’m better, I showed that I’m the best guy, and I deserve to be next.”
Should he need to wait a little— Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2 takes place in June, so the winner may not be ready until later in the year— Sandhagen is willing to sit if need be. Up to a point, anyway. “If it’s the belt next, I’ll wait. I don’t know how long, but I’ll wait.”
As for a preference in who he fights for the title, Sandhagen stated that “they’re both pretty exciting, but I guess to not be boring my answer would be me and O’Malley, because that’s what the fans want to see.”
Watch Cory Sandhagen’s full UFC Des Moines post-fight press conference above.
