Cory Sandhagen isn’t just stacking wins — he’s stacking style points while he’s at it.
Fresh off a commanding performance in the main event of UFC Des Moines, Sandhagen didn’t just close the show against Deiveson Figueiredo — he mic’d up the post-fight narrative with wit and ambition. With the bantamweight division in flux, Sandhagen wasted no time lobbying for his next move: a title shot, or at the very least, a standby role at UFC 316’s championship rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. It was a smart call, sure. But what made it memorable was the delivery — the kind of dry, self-aware humor fans have come to expect from “The Sandman.”
It’s not all laughs, though. For some, the shadow of his loss to Umar Nurmagomedov still lingers — a blemish that critics lean on when arguing against his shot at bantamweight gold. Rather than duck the discourse, Sandhagen leaned into it. In a hilarious Instagram video, he played both himself and a UFC fan clinging to that Nurmagomedov fight like it was gospel. His caption? “This is some of y’all right now and it doesn’t even bother you.” Self-deprecating, funny, and sharp — the perfect trifecta of fight-week banter.
But behind the quips and the clever social media posts lies a résumé that speaks loudly. Sandhagen is now 4-1 in his last five outings, a run that includes decisive wins over marquee names like Rob Font, Marlon Vera, and Song Yadong. Each victory showcased different shades of his well-rounded game — the kind of evolution that suggests he’s not just circling the belt but ready to seize it. At 33, Sandhagen isn’t just knocking on the door; he’s setting the dinner table for a title shot.
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Following the match, Figueiredo is all excuses, claiming that a bacterial infection and fever limited his training.
“I wasn’t 100%. Let me be clear, I was out of action for three weeks. I got hit in the jaw with a straight punch, and my jaw dislocated. That prevented me from doing any serious sparring for a month… So, I was doing positions, doing mitt movements, to burn calories, to avoid being inactive. And towards the end, during the trip, I got some scratches defending a takedown, I didn’t take proper care of them, and it got infected. I traveled on Saturday night, at 2 a.m., with a high fever,” Figueiredo said.
“I called my manager and said, ‘Cancel the fight because it’s not going to happen.’ I talked to my father and my friends. They encouraged me. Leaving home and having to come back empty-handed. I have children, I have a ton of things to pay for. Coming home empty-handed is not worth it. The higher class you live in, the higher the expense. I have to pay for my children’s schooling, my household bills, I have some investments in Brazil.”
Look, if your one job in this world is to fight and you have bills to pay, you’d best make sure you take good care of your injuries. Also, maybe Figueiredo should back off his ego and get more active.
The former two-time flyweight champion has now lost two in a row.
