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Last night saw the UFC’s latest Fight Night event go down, and in the headliner, bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen overcame Song Yadong thanks to a doctor’s stoppage after the fourth round.
With a number of fighters picking up big wins at last night’s UFC Fight Night show, what should matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard look at doing next?
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Naturally, there are always plenty of options for them and many different paths to take.
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Here are five fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong.
#5. UFC middleweight division: Joe Pyfer vs. Chris Curtis
UFC debutant Joe Pyfer made a major impact in his octagon debut last night, turning out the lights on Alen Amedovski in the first round and earning a $50k bonus in the process.
The win was Pyfer’s third in a row, bringing his overall record to 10-2, and when you consider his only loss since 2019 came due to an elbow injury he suffered on his first appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series, it’s probably fair to say that his ceiling is pretty high.
Given he looks like the real deal, then, and at 26 is probably hitting his physical peak, could it be worth fast-tracking him up the ladder? Absolutely. Therefore, a good fight for ‘Bodybagz’ might be Chris Curtis, who is currently ranked at #15 in the middleweight division.
Curtis is 3-1 in the octagon and while he’s coming off a loss to Jack Hermansson, the fact that he previously beat Phil Hawes, Brendan Allen and Rodolfo Vieira tells you plenty about his skills. If Pyfer could beat him, then the sky would undoubtedly be the limit for him.
#4. UFC middleweight division: Anthony Hernandez vs. Gerald Meerschaert
While Anthony Hernandez’s losses to Kevin Holland and Markus Perez suggest that he may have found his ceiling as a high-level action fighter in the middleweight division, there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, the UFC needs reliable action fighters to pad out its myriad number of events.
Therefore, following his strong submission win over Marc-Andre Barriault last night, a good match for ‘Fluffy’ would be a fellow action fighter in the form of Gerald Meerschaert.
Like Hernandez, ‘GM3’ isn’t a genuine title contender at 185lbs, but he is one of the division’s most capable finishers, with all ten of his octagon wins coming via some form of stoppage, including his win over Bruno Silva last month.
Hernandez has fewer octagon wins – four in total – but given that three of them have come via submission, a fight with Meerschaert could treat the fans to some great back-and-forth action, and it’d be a hard fight to pick, too.
Essentially, this bout would be perfect for the main card of a future Fight Night event.
#3. UFC middleweight division: Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brad Tavares
Outside of the headliner last night, the most impressive fighter on offer was definitely Gregory Rodrigues. ‘Robocop’ survived some nasty moments, including suffering a horrible cut, to stop Chidi Njokuani with ground and pound in the second round.
The win was the Brazilian’s fourth in the UFC, and when you consider his only loss came at the hands of Armen Petrosyan in a controversial split decision, it’s probably worth looking to push him into the upper echelon of the middleweight division.
Therefore, a great match-up for him could be the 185lbs division’s perennial gatekeeper, Brad Tavares. The Hawaiian is still ranked at #14 there, despite being part of the promotion’s roster for well over a decade now, dating back to 2010.
More to the point, Tavares has only ever lost to fighters who moved close to title contention, from Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker to current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Sure, he’s coming off a loss to Dricus du Plessis, but he would also provide Rodrigues with a very difficult test, and if ‘Robocop’ and his heavy-handed style could get past the Hawaiian, we’d have a new contender on our hands.
#2. UFC bantamweight division: Song Yadong vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
While he came up short against Cory Sandhagen, Song Yadong didn’t fight badly at all last night. In fact, he arguably took the first two rounds of their bantamweight bout, and could well have pulled off a win were it not for the bad cut that forced a stop to proceedings.
Therefore, it’s clear that ‘The Kung Fu Monkey’ belongs in the top 15 in the UFC’s bantamweight division, if not the top ten. That means there’s essentially two options for him – give him a fighter ranked more highly than him who seems to be on a slide – like Jose Aldo – or a prospect looking to climb up.
The promotion could easily take either path, but if they go with the latter, it’d definitely be fun to see what Song could do with Umar Nurmagomedov.
The cousin of former lightweight kingpin Khabib, Umar has looked phenomenal in the octagon since arriving there in January, and he’s already reeled off three straight wins to take his overall record to 15-0 – climbing into the rankings in the process.
But could the Dagestani deal with Song’s heavy hands, explosive style and strong takedown defense? ‘The Kung Fu Monkey’ would definitely test him more than Brian Kelleher was able to, for instance.
If Song could stop the rise of Nurmagomedov, it’d cement him as a genuine contender, while if the Dagestani could blow through the Chinese fighter, then it’d signal his own intent to break into title contention.
Overall, this would be an excellent fight to make and it could grace any UFC main card in the near future.
#1. UFC bantamweight division: Cory Sandhagen vs. Marlon Vera
The biggest fight to make coming out of last night’s UFC Fight Night event is definitely a bantamweight clash between Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera. In this instance, ‘The Sandman’ called out ‘Chito’ after his fight – and it seems like the Ecuadorian will be happy to oblige.
Sandhagen was impressive last night, recovering from a tricky couple of rounds to take the fight to Song Yadong, beating him on the feet and eventually stopping him due to a nasty cut over the eye due to an elbow strike.
The win was actually Sandhagen’s first since his victory over Frankie Edgar in February 2021, but given that he pushed both TJ Dillashaw and Petr Yan close in their bouts – losing both via tight decisions – it’s clear that he’s a genuine title contender.
Vera, though, is arguably the division’s hottest fighter overall right now. With wins over Sean O’Malley, Edgar, Rob Font and Dominick Cruz, ‘Chito’ could probably lay claim to a shot at the winner of the upcoming Aljamain Sterling vs. Dillashaw title bout.
However, given that Merab Dvalishvili is also sniffing around the top of the division, Yan may find himself next in line again with a win over O’Malley, and there could be reason for a Sterling/Dillashaw rematch, the Ecuadorian may still need to fight again.
If he could beat Sandhagen, then it’d be impossible to deny him his crack at the gold – and likewise, if ‘The Sandman’ could beat him, then he’d be the man with the momentum.
Add in the fact that the styles of the two men would make for a truly fantastic and wild bout, and there’s no reason why the UFC shouldn’t book this one as soon as they can.
