Cory Sandhagen

Despite ending in a split decision, Cory Sandhagen dominated Marlon Vera through five rounds in Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event in San Antonio.

[Aljamain Sterling](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3031559/aljamain-sterling) in 2020, in a result that was legitimate but also unlikely to be duplicated. Dvalishvili should be available in the meantime, as he has said he does not intend to fight Sterling at any time because they are teammates. Vera is known as one of the most dangerous knockout artists in the division, but Sandhagen more than held his own on the feet. "[The strategy was to] win the early rounds and then know he was going to come at me," Sandhagen said. He took Vera down in the first and second rounds and racked up offense with elbows from top position. According to UFC Stats, he out-landed Vera in total strikes 193 to 71 and converted three takedowns.

Sandhagen and Holm put on dominant performances in San Antonio. Are they due title fights in 2023? Our crew breaks down the best of Saturday's action.

She doesn't have time to sit back and wait for the right opportunity. [Cory Sandhagen](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/4294504/cory-sandhagen) a future UFC bantamweight champion. Holm needs to keep moving upward, building toward a return to the glorious heights she once saw. Holm, a former UFC bantamweight champion, said after the fight that she's sticking around to compete for a title. If we're ever going to see a shiny belt wrapped around Holm's waist again, we'll have to see her back inside the cage soon. Best known for her boxing prowess -- she was a 2022 inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame -- Holm scored four takedowns, her most ever in a three-round fight. He was not that on Saturday -- and that evolution has allowed him to climb this minefield of a division once again. Pineda got back to his winning ways with a nasty guillotine choke on Lutz. But where he lost the fight, at least in the eyes of two judges, was clear: Dillashaw was able to muscle him in the clinch and the wrestling aspects of MMA. "Chito" didn't seem ready for this version of Sandhagen, who could have been labeled a finesse fighter earlier in his career. Sandhagen dominated the incredibly game Marlon "Chito" Vera for a split decision victory in the main event of UFC San Antonio. That was not necessarily the case.

A bantamweight match between No. 3 ranked Marlon Vera and No. 5 ranked Cory Sandhagen headlined Saturday's UFC San Antonio fight card in Texas.

Vera connected with a combination. Sandhagen answered with a combination. Sandhagen landed a combination. Sandhagen continued to pressure Vera in the second round. Sandhagen pressured Vera before looking to get the fight to the ground. Vera opened up a cut on Sandhagen with an elbow from the bottom, but the opening round was all Sandhagen.

Two of the judges had it 50-45 and 49-46 for Sandhagen, while Joel Ojeda had one of the worst scorecards ever and had it 48-47 for Vera.

According to UFC Stats, he out-landed Vera in total strikes 193 to 71 and converted three takedowns. Vera's own coach, Jason Parillo, pleaded with his fighter ...

[Aljamain Sterling](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3031559/aljamain-sterling) in 2020, in a result that was legitimate but also unlikely to be duplicated. Dvalishvili should be available in the meantime, as he has said he does not intend to fight Sterling at any time because they are teammates. Vera is known as one of the most dangerous knockout artists in the division, but Sandhagen more than held his own on the feet. "[The strategy was to] win the early rounds and then know he was going to come at me," Sandhagen said. He took Vera down in the first and second rounds and racked up offense with elbows from top position. According to UFC Stats, he out-landed Vera in total strikes 193 to 71 and converted three takedowns.

Check out the official scorecard for the Cory Sandhagen vs. Marlon Vera bantamweight contenders' bout at UFC San Antonio.

He lost his past two decisions, an interim championship fight loss to [Petr Yan](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/4437/petr-yan) and a controversial split call against [T.J. Let us know your thoughts in the poll and comments below. [Jose Aldo](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/7/jose-aldo) in December 2020. Dillashaw](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/1257/t-j-dillashaw). [UFC 241](https://www.mmafighting.com/fight-card/1044/ufc-241) in August 2019, where he earned a unanimous nod over [Raphael Assuncao](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/230/raphael-assuncao). The dissenting judge was Joel Ojeda, who had it 48-47 in favor of Vera.

Sandhagen and Holm put on dominant performances in San Antonio. Are they due title fights in 2023? Our crew breaks down the best of Saturday's action.

She doesn't have time to sit back and wait for the right opportunity. [Cory Sandhagen](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/4294504/cory-sandhagen) a future UFC bantamweight champion. Holm needs to keep moving upward, building toward a return to the glorious heights she once saw. Holm, a former UFC bantamweight champion, said after the fight that she's sticking around to compete for a title. If we're ever going to see a shiny belt wrapped around Holm's waist again, we'll have to see her back inside the cage soon. Best known for her boxing prowess -- she was a 2022 inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame -- Holm scored four takedowns, her most ever in a three-round fight. He was not that on Saturday -- and that evolution has allowed him to climb this minefield of a division once again. Pineda got back to his winning ways with a nasty guillotine choke on Lutz. But where he lost the fight, at least in the eyes of two judges, was clear: Dillashaw was able to muscle him in the clinch and the wrestling aspects of MMA. "Chito" didn't seem ready for this version of Sandhagen, who could have been labeled a finesse fighter earlier in his career. Sandhagen dominated the incredibly game Marlon "Chito" Vera for a split decision victory in the main event of UFC San Antonio. That was not necessarily the case.

In the joint-main event, Holly Holm's ground game proved too much for Yana Santos in the women's bantamweight clash. The veteran former champion won by a ...

However, he rallied towards the end of the fourth. Mixed Martial Arts

UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Sandhagen took place March 25 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. UFC bantamweight contenders Marlon Vera (20-8-1) and Cory ...

Vera explodes forward with a flurry but misses. Vera catches a kick then finds a home for a nasty elbow. Sandhagen nails him with a left to the body. Three minutes for Vera to find a Hail Mary. Vera is getting frustrated with all this movement — he raising his hands up and calls for Sandhagen to brawl. Sandhagen pumps his jump then cracks Vera with a right hand. Sandhagen spins and misses with a kick. Vera attempts to scramble out but Sandhagen sticks to him like glue. Vera wades forward with a combination but misses. Vera misses with a spinning back kick at the horn. Vera goes low with a powerful kick. Sandhagen closes the gap and drags Vera to the floor, then starts unloading punches and elbows from top position.

UFC on ESPN 43 main event winner Cory Sandhagen is trying to lead by example in his quest for down-to-earth callouts.

UFC bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili has responded to Cory Sandhagen's post-UFC San Antonio callout.

Cory Sandhagen admits there's concern about Henry Cejudo returning after a three-year long layoff but he still expects the former champion to retake the ...

I do think it’s a little bit weird that they’re doing the title shot for Cejudo considering Cejudo likes to stir the pot a lot, and I think with a win in the division, I think he’s just going to stir the pot a lot and may or may not be what the UFC wants. I don’t think Cejudo’s been in that frame of mind for a couple of years. “Cejudo has been off for a really long time and I don’t know what he’s been doing in his off time,” Sandhagen said. There’s a reason there are weight classes, and I think that Aljamain is going to be way bigger than Cejudo. I think it’s going to be a kickboxing fight with Aljamain still taking a lot of shots but Cejudo keeping him in front of him the whole time. “It is a little bit tricky but honestly I do have Cejudo winning that fight,” Sandhagen told MMA Fighting ahead of UFC San Antonio.

After his big win over Marlon Vera at UFC San Antonio last night (Sat., March 25, 2023), Cory Sandhagen just set a deadline for his next fight against Merab ...

[HERE](https://www.mmamania.com/2023/3/18/23637317/ufc-286-results-live-streaming-ppv-play-by-play-updates-edwards-usman-3-gaethje-fiziev-london-mma). 1, and my fiance will kill me if we have the wedding and I have to still be training for a fight. As for when the two contenders should fight — Dvalishvili fought two weeks ago — the timeline between the two lines-up quite nice. 1, or my fiance will kill both me and Merab. [Merab Dvalishvili](https://www.mmamania.com/2023/3/12/23635936/ufc-las-vegas-morning-after-merab-dvalishvili-cardio-personification-of-pace-petr-yan-espn-mma). [watch highlights](https://www.mmamania.com/2023/3/25/23656201/ufc-san-antonio-highlights-cory-sandhagen-shuts-down-marlon-vera-calls-out-merab-dvalishvili-espn)).