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The UFC’s latest Fight Night event went down last night in San Antonio, Texas, and in many ways, it was a disappointment. UFC Fight Night: Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen saw just three out of ten fights end in stoppages, but some fighters still picked up some pretty big wins. Whether these wins propel them into title contention remains to be seen, but it’s clear that at least some of them have a bright future ahead of them.
Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen.
#5. CJ Vergara – defeated Daniel da Silva in a UFC flyweight bout
Texan flyweight fighter CJ Vergara didn’t come into last night’s event with much hype behind him at all. Placed in the second bout of the night, Vergara faced an opponent in Daniel da Silva who’d failed to win any of his first three visits to the octagon. That should’ve put him in a position to win for the second time in the UFC, but early on, it didn’t look like that would happen.
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Da Silva hurt the Texan with a variety of strikes early, stunning him with a wheel kick and then dropping him with another. Vergara managed to survive but looked to be on the verge of being finished moments later by a face crank.
Remarkably, though, he lasted the round – although it almost certainly would’ve been considered a 10-8 on the scorecards. From that point, a victory for him seemed almost impossible. Remarkably, though, the second round saw Vergara turn things around in dramatic fashion.
After several early exchanges and a scramble, he found himself in top position. From there, he began to wear da Silva out with strikes and eventually turned up the heat enough for a stoppage with just under a minute to go. The win won’t make Vergara a title contender at 125 lbs, but it did win him a $50k bonus, and it should be enough to keep him afloat in the promotion for some time.
#4. Daniel Pineda – defeated Tucker Lutz in a UFC featherweight bout
The biggest underdog at last night’s event was featherweight veteran Daniel Pineda. His opponent, Tucker Lutz, didn’t have too much hype around him after losing his last visit to the octagon, but it felt like other things were counting against ‘The Pit.’
Not only had he turned 37 years old last year – usually close to the endpoint for a smaller fighter – but he also hadn’t fought since June 2021 and hadn’t won since a year before that. Given his UFC debut came way back in 2012, the idea of him finding a way to beat a younger foe more than a decade later seemed near impossible.
However, Pineda looked excellent throughout the fight. He won the striking exchanges in the first round, dropping Lutz towards the end and then put him down in the second round with a crushing knee. This time, ‘The Pit’ capitalized by grabbing Lutz into a tight guillotine choke and forcing him to tap out moments later.
How much longer Pineda can continue to perform at this level is a mystery given his age, but this was a truly marvelous showing from him. More to the point, it kept his ridiculous record of finishing every single one of his wins alive – making him one of last night’s biggest winners.
#3. Maycee Barber – defeated Andrea Lee in a UFC flyweight bout
Few of the fighters in action on last night’s card seem likely to head into title contention in the future, but one exception was flyweight Maycee Barber. She defeated Andrea Lee via split decision in a close bout, one in which all three of the rounds could realistically have been scored either way.
The win was the fourth in a row for ‘The Future,’ whose last defeat came at the hands of current UFC flyweight queen Alexa Grasso back in 2021.
Could there be an opportunity in the future for her to claim a rematch with the Mexican, perhaps even for the title? Given that Lee was ranked at No.11 coming into last night, it’s not a stretch that Barber might find herself in the top 10 next week.
Therefore, a title shot in the future isn’t impossible. She will clearly need to work on her overall skills, most notably her ability to take opponents down and her technical striking, but at the age of 24, she’s got plenty of time. However, based on the fact that she defeated an opponent ranked above her in her home state, she’s got to be considered one of last night’s bigger winners.
#2. Holly Holm – defeated Yana Santos in a UFC bantamweight bout
It wasn’t all that entertaining, but Holly Holm picked up yet another decent win in last night’s co-main event, clearly outpointing her former teammate Yana Santos over three rounds. The fight was reminiscent of Holm’s 2019 win over Megan Anderson in the sense that rather than use her vaunted striking, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ instead dominated her foe on the mat.
Santos found herself planted on her back in all three rounds, and while Holm didn’t manage to finish her, she basically did whatever she wanted. She moved from one dominant position to another, landed plenty of strikes, and even came close with a couple of submissions too.
Were it not for some wonky judging in her last bout with Ketlen Vieira, this would’ve been Holm’s fourth win in a row, something that could’ve moved her into title contention.
As it is, though, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ should largely be seen as a very high-level gatekeeper more than anything else.
Perhaps most importantly, though, despite a somewhat dull fighting style, Holm remains wildly popular with the fans, probably still thanks to her iconic win over Ronda Rousey back in 2015.
That means that she’s still seen as somewhat of a star – and so as long as she can keep winning, she’ll find herself in the spotlight going forward, something that’s obviously important for any UFC fighter.
#1. Cory Sandhagen – defeated Marlon Vera in a UFC bantamweight bout
The biggest winner at last night’s UFC event was undoubtedly Cory Sandhagen. The No.5-ranked bantamweight came into his clash with No.3-ranked Marlon Vera as a slight underdog and many fans saw him as the final hurdle to move ‘Chito’ towards a title challenge.
However, when it came down to it, it was ‘The Sandman’ who took the lead in the bout, using his takedowns and ground work to prevent any meaningful offense from his Ecuadorian opponent in the first two rounds. Vera did manage to come back slightly in the later rounds, but his vaunted striking power simply didn’t come into play.
Sandhagen was too elusive on the feet and landed the better strikes there, and while the fight ended with a brief wild brawl, it seemed clear that he’d done enough to win. Despite one judge bizarrely seeing three of the rounds in favor of Vera, ‘The Sandman’ did indeed claim the victory.
Given that his only recent losses came at the hands of Petr Yan and TJ Dillashaw in very tight fights, it’s safe to say that Sandhagen is definitely one of the best 135lbers on the planet right now. This win just proved that further.
What’s next for him? After an entertaining post-fight call-out, it sounds like a match with Merab Dvalishvili could be in the future – and if he can win that one, then it’d be impossible to deny him a title shot. Overall, then, this night undoubtedly belonged to ‘The Sandman.’
