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Cory Sandhagen wants title shot after UFC Des Moines TKO win over Deiveson Figueiredo

Cory Sandhagen wants title shot after UFC Des Moines TKO win over Deiveson Figueiredo

USA Today04-05-2025

Cory Sandhagen wants title shot after UFC Des Moines TKO win over Deiveson Figueiredo Former interim title challenger took out ex-flyweight champ in second round
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UFC Des Moines video: Cory Sandhagen post-fight interview
UFC on ESPN 67 winner Cory Sandhagen talks to MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight after his second-round TKO of Deiveson Figueiredo in Des Moines, Iowa.
The UFC title picture at 135 pounds is a simple one for Cory Sandhagen. He sees himself as not only the clear No. 1 contender, but also the only option that makes sense.
Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) called for his shot at the winner of the championship rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley following his latest win in the octagon. Sandhagen defeated former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC on ESPN 67 this past Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.
Following the fight, "The Sandman" displayed his case in front of reporters as to why he's the only option for the next title shot at bantamweight.
"I think I deserve the title shot next, regardless," Sandhagen said at the post-fight press conference. "I mean, who else is there? Umar (Nurmagomedov) just fought for the belt and lost. (Petr) Yan is coming off a win, but also lost to both of the guys that are fighting (for the belt), so I don't know how exciting that would be. And I finished Figgy in a round and a half. Yan didn't finish Figgy. Yan got dropped by Figgy, and I think that Figgy maybe hit me one time. So I showed that I'm better and that I'm the best guy. I deserve to be next."
Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 goes down in the main event of UFC 316, which is set to take place on June 7 at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey. Sandhagen has his eyes locked on fighting the winner, and he'd be willing to wait for his shot if needed.
"If it's the belt next, I'll wait," Sandhagen said. "I'll wait. I don't know how long, but I'll wait."
As far as who he'd prefer to face, Sandhagen has no problem fighting either guy. However, he does think that the MMA fanbase if more interested in a clash with O'Malley, than Dvalishvili.
"They're both pretty exciting, but to not be boring my answer would be me and O'Malley because that's what the fans want to see."

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LIVE! UFC 316 Results, Streaming ‘Prelims' Updates
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LIVE! UFC 316 Results, Streaming ‘Prelims' Updates

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UFC 316 predictions: We like one ‘and still,' one ‘and new' in Newark —\u00a0but whom?
UFC 316 predictions: We like one ‘and still,' one ‘and new' in Newark —\u00a0but whom?

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UFC 316 predictions: We like one ‘and still,' one ‘and new' in Newark —\u00a0but whom?

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Below, we look at details for the UFC 316 main card bouts and the start time for each portion of the UFC 316 fight card Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025 Location: Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey Main Card Start Time: 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ Pay-Per-View Preliminary Card Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+ Early Prelims Start Time: 6:00 p.m ET on ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley - Men's bantamweight title fight Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison - Women's bantamweight title fight Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer - Middleweight Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix - Bantamweight Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland - Welterweight Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van - Flyweight Azamat Murzakanov vs. Brendson Ribeiro - Light Heavyweight Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta - Heavyweight Khaos Williams vs. Andreas Gustafsson - Welterweight Ariane da Silva vs. Wang Cong - Catchweight (132 Pounds) Jeka Saragih vs. Yoo Joo-sang - Featherweight Quillan Salkilld vs. Yanal Ashmouz - Lightweight MarQuel Mederos vs. Mark Choinski - Lightweight Merab Dvalishvili (19-4), a long-time training partner of former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling stepped into the spotlight of the promotion's 135-pound division in September 2014 when he scored a unanimous decision win over then-champion Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 306. 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Sean O'Malley (18-2-0-1) was 7-0 with six finishes when he got the chance to fight for a UFC contract on the first season of Dana White's Contender Series back in 2017. O'Malley, scored a first-round knockout, and a UFC contract that night. He went 4-0 in his first bouts with the promotion, picking up three fight-night bonus awards for his efforts, including a brutal one-punch KO win over UFC veteran Eddie Wineland at UFC 250. The win over Wineland put O'Malley at No. 14 in the UFC bantamweight rankings and got him a fight against Marlon 'Chito' Vera. Vera won that fight by TKO, handing O'Malley the only defeat on his record. The loss to Vera knocked O'Malley out of the rankings, but he bounced back in his next fight, knocking out Thomas Almeida and earning another fight-night bonus in the process. He followed that win with a TKO win over Kris Moutinho. Despite those back-to-back wins, O'Malley remained unranked when he next stepped into the Octagon for a December 2021 matchup against Raulian Paiva. O'Malley wrapped that fight up with a knockout at the 4:42 mark of the first round. That victory put O'Malley back in the rankings. O'Malley's next bout ended in a no contest, when an eye poke in the second round left Pedro Munhoz unable to continue. Then, in October 2022, O'Malley was matched up with former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. He entered that contest as the +230 underdog to the -275 ex-champ. The pair went the three-round distance, with O'Malley getting the split decision nod. That victory set up O'Malley to face Sterling in August 2023. O'Malley has not fought since his loss to Dvalishvili. He is the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings. Julianna Pena (12-5) earned her UFC contract by winning Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter. 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Holland is 2-2 in his past four outings with a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk, a corner stoppage TKO loss to Roman Dolidze, a submission setback to Reinier de Ridder, and most recently, a decision win over Gunnar Nelson in March. Stay tuned for more coverage from the UFC 316 fight card. Including live UFC 316 results, reactions, recaps and video highlights during tonight's event.

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