Cory Sandhagen and Marlon “Chito” Vera were the two men in question, with the aforementioned Sandhagen being the one with his hand raised at the end of the five round clinic.

Let’s take a look at what could be next for the winners of the night.

Cory Sandhagen

This past Saturday, Cory Sandhagen put on a career best performance over the dangerous Marlon Vera.

Coming off the back of a win over the powerful Song Yadong, Sandhagen was going into another bout with an extremely powerful striker in Vera. The 30-year-old started the fight off on the front foot, as expected, with Vera taking the slow approach that has caused him to fall behind previously. That was the case again this time out for “Chito,” as Sandhagen’s pace didn’t show any signs of letting up, and the variance of strikes made it difficult for Vera to work his way into the fight.

Sandhagen dominated his way to a decision victory, but one in which was controversial as one of the judges disgustingly scored Vera as the winner. Luckily, the egregious scorecard didn’t cause the result to sway from the correct one, and Sandhagen was victorious.

With his time on the mic, Sandhagen called for a fight with the recently impressive, Merab Dvalishvili. That’s a fight that could make sense for both, as Merab won’t be fighting for a title while Sterling is still on the throne.

Sandhagen’s Next Fight: Merab Dvalishvili  

Holy Holm

“The Preachers Daughter” Holly Holm returned to the win column after a truly dominant victory over kickboxer Yana Santos.

In this fight, Holm totted up over nine minutes of control time, noticing the weakness in Santos’ game and using that to her advantage. Throughout the 15 minutes, Holm secured four takedowns, landing at a 66% success rate.

The 41-year-old now finds herself in a slightly weird spot as the women’s bantamweight division is crying out for decent talent. Holm has just recently signed a new six-fight-deal with the promotion, and is trying to work herself back up to a title fight.

There are many matchups that just don’t make sense for her though, as she is currently occupying rank number three. The only thing that makes the slightest bit of sense for her at the moment is a rematch with Ketlen Vieira as their first bout ended in a split decision.

Holm’s Next Fight: Ketlen Vieira  

Nate Landwehr

Nate “The Train” rolled through to San Antonio this weekend and on its way, picked up another win.

Landwehr was originally scheduled to take on Alex Caceres, but the latter pulled out of the bout just weeks prior to their scheduled date. Austin Lingo stepped in on short notice though, as he was scheduled to face Ricardo Ramos just a few weeks ago at UFC Las Vegas, but Ramos pulled out.

Landwehr extended his win streak to three wins on the bounce, continuing his rise up the division. Since his move from M1, the brawler has quickly become a fans favourite.

Having said that, Landwehr has earned himself a fight with someone inside the top 15 of the rankings. Alex Caceres occupies a ranked spot and with that fight having already been scheduled, it still makes sense.

Landwehr’s Next Fight: Alex Caceres 

Maycee Barber

Controversial scoring in the main event wasn’t the only occasion on Saturday. Maycee Barber picked up a split decision win over Andrea Lee, with the majority of fans believing Lee had done enough to win the fight.

In my opinion, Barber herself did enough to win what was a close fight, and there was some agreement on social media that that was the case too. Therefore, I think it is unfair for this fight to be labelled a ‘robbery’ as it has been by some.

Having said that, with this going down as a controversial decision, it leaves Barber in a strange spot for her next fight.

Lauren Murphy is coming off a beatdown by Jessica Andrade; a fight with Barber could make sense for both parties.

Barber’s Next Fight: Lauren Murphy 

Albert Duraev

The Russian, Duraev, picked up his second win since joining the promotion in 2021. In this outing, he showed his well roundedness against a dangerous competitor in Chidi Njokuani.

In the first round, he secured himself two takedowns accumulating just over three minutes of control time, nullifying dangerous powerful striking of Njokuani. However, in round two, the 34-year-old didn’t attempt any takedowns and instead decided to showcase his skills on the feet, sailing to a split decision victory.

Gregory Rodrigues is someone who is more often than not, in exciting fights. A matchup between these two men could be fun.

Duraev’s Next Fight: Gregory Rodrigues

Daniel Pineda

Daniel “The Pit” Pineda caused the biggest upset win of the night with his victory over Tucker Lutz.

With that, he picked up his 19th win by submission, showing where the threats lie when facing off against him. Getting the win in his home state, Pineda scored his most impressive victory so far.

Isaac Dulgarian is someone who was scheduled to make his UFC debut at the start of the year, but unfortunately his bout fell through. Daniel Pineda could be someone to welcome him to the big leagues.

Pineda’s Next Fight: Isaac Dulgarian

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What’s next for Chito and the rest of the UFC San Antonio main card? Read on.

Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera

Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera’s four-fight win streak of carnage was ended by Cory Sandhagen on Saturday night; the Ecuadorian now looks to right the ship and move back towards a title shot by fighting other contenders outside of the immediate title picture. Directly adjacent his spot in the rankings (at least until they are updated on Tuesday morning) is former champ Petr Yan, who is a valid option for Chito’s next fight. Further down in the rankings is rising Dagestani talent Umar Nurmagomedov, who is struggling to get his next fight booked after knocking out Raoni Barcelos. Fights in the near future which Chito could face the winner of include Font vs Yanez and Yadong vs Simon.

The best option here is probably Umar Nurmagomedov. Bantamweight is such a talent-rich division that it would be somewhat of a waste to match up two top ranked fighters on losing streaks, even if a fight between Yan and Vera would be beautiful violence, as it would keep new blood from having a chance at the top of the division. Umar is a potential future champion and has a well-rounded skillset, but Chito has not yet faced a wrestler of his caliber in MMA, so the fight would challenge both men.

Vera’s Next Fight: Umar Nurmagomedov

Yana Santos

New mother Yana Santos lost her first fight since giving birth when she faced former champion Holly Holm in the co-main event of UFC San Antonio. Yana was out-struck and out-wrestled en route to a dominant decision victory for Holm, giving her back-to-back losses now at women’s bantamweight. Her next fight should be against a rising talent, like seventh ranked Pannie Kianzad, who is 5-1 in her last six. Kianzad deserves a chance to propel herself into title contention and Yana needs to collect more wins before she can fight up again.

Santos’ Next Fight: Pannie Kianzad

Austin Lingo

Lingo fell to 2-2 in the UFC as he lost to fan favorite Nate Landwehr on Saturday night. Lingo is one of many unranked featherweights, so there is no shortage of potential opponents for him. One such option just so happens to have also fought and lost on the same card as him: Tucker Lutz. Lutz is 1-2 in the UFC, though he’s 2-0 on the Contender Series, and is trying to establish himself in the division, just like Landwehr. Both fighters have well-rounded skillsets and are seemingly on the same timeline for their next fight, having fought barely an hour apart. This type of fight is perfect for a Fight Night prelim bout, the type of fight that makes up the meat and potatoes of UFC cards.

Lingo’s Next Fight: Tucker Lutz

Andrea Lee

Lee was ranked eleventh at women’s flyweight when she lost a controversial split decision to thirteenth-ranked Maycee Barber. Many thought Lee won the fight, just as many thought Barber did, but whoever wins that argument, Lee lost on paper and must fight down once again moving forward. Near her in the rankings lies fourteenth ranked Tracy Cortez. Cortez is undefeated in the UFC with four straight decision wins, and Andrea Lee would be the toughest, most experienced test of her career. All prospects must face an opponent like this, just as all veterans must defend their spots against prospects, and now is the time for Tracy and Andrea to do so.

Lee’s Next Fight: Tracy Cortez

Chidi Njokuani

Knockout artist Chidi “Bang Bang” Njokuani took a step backwards the other night both in terms of his career and his skillset, as he opted to use a less violent and more technical, point-scoring type of striking against Albert Duraev. This did not work as Duraev won the decision, and Chidi must reevaluate what type of fighter he wishes to be. One rising talent in the middleweight division who would perfectly push and test Chidi is Roman Kopylov. Kopylov started his UFC run with two losses, but is now on a two fight winning streak and looked impressive in his last bout, a TKO win over Punahele Soriano. Kopylov may have improved for the better, and Chidi may have slipped up in his last bout, but putting the two together to fight would tell us where their skillsets and career trajectories really lie.

Njokuani’s Next Fight: Roman Kopylov

Tucker Lutz

Tucker Lutz lost his second fight in a row to drop to 1-2 in the UFC on Saturday. He had won 12 fights in a row before that, going back to 2015, but nonetheless he could be facing an untimely exit from the promotion with one more loss. As mentioned earlier in the article, the opponent for Tucker is Austin Lingo. Austin and Tucker are both good fighters, but are not yet established in the promotion and are in situations where a loss would have them below .500 as the end of their first UFC contract presumably draws close.

Lutz’ Next Fight: Austin Lingo

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Now, Alex Perez, whose withdrawal from a fight with Manel Kape briefly threw the event into chaos, has opened up about what forced him out of the match-up with several bouts already in the books.

“First and foremost, I want to thank everyone for all the support and concerns. I was doing my pre-fight warm up and had a seizure,” Perez (24-7) wrote on social media a short time after the incident. “I immediately received medical attention. My hydration, electrolytes, etc were all more than adequate. This has nothing to do with weight cut. It was one of the easiest cuts of my career. I will be undergoing further testing in the upcoming weeks to determine the cause. I would appreciate privacy.”

“My apologizes to my opponent and fans. Thank you to the UFC medical team for their help and support.”

The cancellation of Perez vs. Kape left the promotion with extra time to fill, as Daniel Pineda vs. Tucker Lutz was shifted from the prelims to the main card.

Perez, who challenged then-champ Deiveson Figueiredo for flyweight gold in 2020, has hit Ray Borg-levels of bad luck, with no fewer than nine fights cancelled since then — including four against Matt Schnell alone.

Now 31-years old, Alex Perez has fought just once since his title shot, losing via submission to Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 277 last July.

The post Alex Perez Says Seizure Behind UFC San Antonio Withdrawal appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Fight Night card was plagued by fight cancellations even as the event itself got underway, losing a fight on Thursday, another on Friday, and then a third with the show already underway as Alex Perez suffered a medical issue backstage prior to his fight with Manel Kape.

It was another flyweight pairing, however, that took home Fight of the Night. An explosive first round by Daniel Lacerda had him well ahead against San Antonio’s own CJ Vergara, but he rallied back in the second, taking Lacerda to the ground and peppering him with strikes until the ref finally waved it off.

An early candidate for Comeback of the Year after Vergara was knocked down (and nearly out) in the opening round, instead the Texan walked away with the win — and $50,000 in bonus money. For Lacerda (Daniel Da Silva), he’s now 0-4 in the UFC, and despite some entertaining fights, will almost surely be shown the door.

Performance of the Night honors at UFC San Antonio went to Nate Landwehr, who submitted short-notice replacement Austin Lingo, and another Texas native, Daniel Pineda. Returning from over a year away in part due to a suspension for amphetamines, Pineda notched career win number 28 by submitting Tucker Lutz.

Along with career win #28, that’s also stoppage #28 for the 37-year old.

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Marlon Vera looked to push further into the title picture at Saturday’s UFC San Antonio, paired up with fellow top-five bantamweight Cory Sandhagen.

“Chito” Vera, ranked third in the division, and Sandhagen, ranked fifth, might have secured a shot at gold with a win — were they competing in any other weight class. But in the crowded 135lb ranks, Henry Cejudo and Sean O’Malley both sat above them, with Cejudo getting the next shot at champ Aljamain Sterling in May.

Sandhagen started as the lead fighter on the feet, mixing in combinations with body punches. Vera was limited in output for the first two minutes of the fight, as per usual when Chito fights. Sandhagen, however, was taking advantage of that and pushing the pace. He threw a flying knee and then took Vera down. Sandhagen stacked Vera in half guard and began landing blows. Vera was pushed up against the cage in an uncomfortable position and Sandhagen was in full control until the bell.

Sandhagen shot for an early takedown and Vera tried applying a guillotine but could not get control of the body. Sandhagen popped out into half guard. Sandhagen cleared the guard and moved into side control. Vera was able to get to his feet with just over a minute remaining in the round, but he did not have an answer for Sandhagen’s wrestling. Vera nearly landed a single-leg of his own, but Sandhagen stayed on his feet and connected with a flying knee.

Vera started opening up in the third round with his striking. Punches were beginning to land as did a solid leg kick. A left hand connected for Sandhagen after a caught kick followed by a feinted takedown. Sandhagen then capped off a one-two combination with a body kick, but was then drilled by a one-two. He pushed forward with a body shot but came up empty on a takedown effort. Long punches landed for Sandhagen as Vera’s volume still left a bit to be desired. A smooth combination got through the guard of Vera, who had yet to find his range.

Sandhagen started the fourth round with a few takedown attempts, with Vera defending all of them. Sandhagen then shot through with a flying knee. Vera seemed just out of range to land the strikes he wanted. Vera even stuck his arms out at one point in frustration. The movement of Sandhagen kept him out of range, with Vera landing a left straight to break the cold streak. Vera stared down Sandhagen after the round concluded, down four rounds to none.

Sandhagen started the fifth round with an early takedown, sucking the air out of a potential Vera comeback. Vera did get back to his feet, but the push for a finish only came with 30 seconds left. A dominant win for Sandhagen.

Cory Sandhagen def. Marlon Vera by Split Decision (50-45, 49-46, 47-48)

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UFC San Antonio’s co-main event featured the return of a female combat sports icon, Holly Holm, in a bantamweight bout with Yana Santos. The fight marked the end of a 10-month layoff for Holm, as she looked to get back into the win column with a victory over a former UFC title challenger.

And she did just that – in resounding fashion.

Holm was in control throughout the entirety of the latter two rounds following a closer first frame. Holm racked up nearly ten minutes of control time, transitioning from side control to top mount and back smoothly while raining down vicious ground and pound.

There wasn’t a single moment where “The Preacher’s Daughter” encountered any legitimate danger despite Santos’ best efforts. The strength of Holly Holm was too much for the normally strong Yana Santos, as the Russian could not keep Holm off of her.

Holm, 41, recently signed a new six-fight deal with the promotion, and will look to remain in title talks following a dominant showing after nearly a year away from the cage. The timeless contender and former champion proved once again that she is not to be forgotten.

Santos falls to (14-7) with the loss, and will likely pick this fight apart over the next few months in an attempt to correct some of her shortcomings against the legendary Holm.

Holly Holm def. Yana Santos by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27 x2)

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With Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres out of the fight, Nate Landwehr instead landed Austin Lingo in a main card featherweight match-up at UFC San Antonio.

“The Train” was coming off back-to-back bonuses, while Lingo was fighting in his home state of Texas for the first time since his UFC debut in 2020.

Austin Lingo was a man on a mission to start, delivering big right hands over the top that were landing cleanly. Lingo kept the pressure on as Landwehr was unable to push the pace with the aggression he’s accustomed to. Landwehr started to find his rhythm with leg kicks, but Lingo’s right straight was causing issues. Of course, Landwehr is as tough as they come and was in great shape heading into the second round.

Lingo wasn’t finding the success he had in the first round on the feet and Landwehr began opening up. The damage started to add up on Lingo and culminated with a big head kick that rocked him. Landwehr followed up with a combination, established a body lock and took Lingo to the mat. Landwehr started landing bombs and knocked Lingo’s mouthpiece out. After that, the arm slid under the chin and and squeezed for the tap, earning a submission victory.

NATE THE TRAIN GETS IT DONE AT #UFCSanAntonio 🚂 pic.twitter.com/HYRrAe6YW8

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 26, 2023

The always charismatic Landwehr said it was “easy money” and called for a fight with his originally scheduled opponent, Alex Caceres.

Nate Landwehr def. Austin Lingo by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in Round 2 (4:11)

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Back on a roll in the UFC women’s flyweight division, Maycee Barber was getting another step up in competition as she took on Andrea Lee at UFC San Antonio on Saturday night.

The main card match-up saw the #13-ranked Barber looking to push towards the top 10 against #11-ranked “KGB” Lee.

Barber had won three straight, while Lee was looking to bounce back from a loss to Viviane Araujo last year.

Andrea Lee was the aggressor out of the gate, taking Barber down immediately into side control. Barber used unique defense, trapping the right arm of Lee across her back using her legs. A couple of crucifix-like elbows were landed by Barber from the bottom as Lee had no arm to defend until it popped loose during the attack from Barber. Lee nearly took the back of Barber during the ensuing scramble, but Barber was able to get to her feet. Head kicks were traded, followed by Barber connecting with several leg kicks. Barber landed an elbow near the end of the round.

Barber started the second with a two-punch combination. After several kicks by both fighters came up short, Lee landed a combination of her own. A right hand by Lee connected following a caught kick. Barber shot for a takedown and completed it, but Lee sprung back to her feet right away. A head kick snapped the head of Barber back, then Barber swung for the fences landing several hard blows. Lee responded with a quick single-leg takedown and gained half guard. Lee stood up and Barber stayed on her back, allowing Lee to land a pair of axe kicks. KGB re-entered guard before the end of the round and battered Barber with hammer fists to the bell.

With two rounds seemingly under her belt, Lee was not as aggressive as in previous rounds. Barber was dictating the pace on the feet with kicks. Barber then shot for a takedown and Lee went down again. Top control did not last though, as Lee scrambled to her feet and dumped Barber to the mat with a slick single leg, not following her to top control. Barber returned to her feet and Lee responded with a body lock takedown, finishing the fight in top position.

Maycee Barber def. Andrea Lee by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)

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Chidi “Bang Bang” has proven himself an all-action fighter with three bonuses, three knockouts, and zero fights that went to decision in his Contender Series fight and his first three UFC fights. Duraev was sitting at 1-1 in the UFC coming into this one, and so this fight could represent a big turning point in his career, while Chidi has gained more fans and more of a secure place in the middleweight division. This fight all but promised to be a banger, and was a stark matchup of styles between the explosive kickboxing of Njokuani against the mauling wrestling of Duraev.

Chidi had the home field advantage, being from Texas, and the crowd was roaring as the fight began. Duraev came out orthodox while Njokuani started southpaw but switched frequently. The feeling out process lasted a while with Duraev calmly pressuring a careful Njokuani. Ninety seconds in he landed a body kick which Duraev used to take him down. Chidi got to the fence and tried to build up from his knees but Duraev held onto his back with one hook in. Duraev pushed him back to the ground and landed ground strikes while maintaining control; Chidi just lay on his side then got to his hands and knees.

Chidi finally stood up with two minutes left but Duraev got his hands locked under the butt, yet he was unable to complete the takedown because of the fence and the balance of Chidi. Then he went to an outside trip which slammed Njokuani to the canvas. Chidi tried to land elbows off of his back from closed guard instead of getting back up. Still, Duraev was on top and controlled him to the bell while landing some ground strikes.

The second round began on the feet, but could Chidi keep it there? Duraev attempted an early spinning backfist in round two which partially landed. Duraev’s slow pressure was able to slowly back up Chidi, who circled constantly to try to stay off the fence. Both seemed reluctant to open up on the feet in round two, though Chidi landed some nice straights. He mostly looked to counter, in stark contrast to the aggression of his first three UFC fights.

With two minutes left Chidi landed a straight right that wobbled Albert’s legs, but he stayed on his feet and recovered. Duraev seemed to be dropping his hands when he threw leg kicks, opening himself up to the power of Chidi, who constantly backed off Duraev with strikes. The rest of the round had little action, and the crowd grew restless as the final round approached.

Chidi opened round three with a big body kick which almost knocked Duraev over just from the force. Duraev postured by gesturing and saying, “Come on,” but it clearly hurt him. Duraev then pressured forward and Chidi circled the outside before landing a knee when Duraev came into the clinch. Duraev ate it and got in on a double leg, then a single leg, then just the clinch. Chidi defended and got off the fence after less than thirty seconds, with over three minutes left. Duraev seemed tired and whenever came forward he got cracked, but he landed slapping leg kicks constantly.

Chidi’s sharp straight punches kept jarring Duraev visibly, but he was extremely low volume, only throwing when Duraev came to him and not putting hardly any combinations together. The latter stage of the round took place more in the center of the cage than before, which Duraev not focusing on forward pressure. Body kicks and straight punches continued to land almost whenever Chidi threw them for the rest of the round and he routinely evaded the wild punches of his opponent.

The decision could have gone either way, the first round was definitely Duraev while the second was close and third was clearly Njokuani. In round two Njokuani landed the cleaner and more damaging shots but Duraev technically landed more strikes, due to his light, slapping leg kicks. The judges had it split, with all three having 29-28 scorecards. However, two of them were for Albert Duraev, so he won the fight in a very tight decision, which the crowd booed.

Official Result: Albert Duraev def. Chidi Njokuani by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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Texan Pineda was returning for the first time since a 2021 match-up with Andre Fili that saw an accidental eye poke leave him unable to continue — resulting in a no contest. Following that, he’d been hit with a nine-month suspension for amphetamine use.

Lutz put Pineda on the fence early in the fight, but was unable to keep him there. They would end up back at center, but it was Lutz the aggressor, getting right in the face of Pineda, who tried to slip and roll with the punches. Pineda fired some leg kicks, then drove in on a takedown that saw the pair go from one side of the cage to the other — though Lutz stayed standing, reversed, and separated.

Pineda again fired a low kick, following by a spinning attack that missed, but a counter-punch by Pineda briefly sat Lutz down. The remainder of the round played out on the feet, with Daniel Pineda looking sharper as the fight wore on.

Early in the second, Lutz put Pineda back on the fence, but that proved to be detrimental to his cause. Pineda defended with a guillotine, eventually going to the ground. He threatend to take back before transitioning to the top, working from inside Lutz’s guard. Pineda then rolled into another guillotine attempt, and this time it was in tight! Lutz was soon forced to tap, giving Pineda a key win in his first fight in over a year.

He gets the tap!

😤 @DanielPitPineda sinking in a crafty guillotine at #UFCSanAntonio pic.twitter.com/XtO5Knvnhg

— UFC (@ufc) March 25, 2023

Official Result: Daniel Pineda def. Tucker Lutz by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 2:50

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