5 questions that could be answered at UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

This weekend sees the UFC visit the state of Iowa for the first time in 25 years. This Fight Night event actually looks like a pretty solid one, too.

Naturally, there are plenty of questions worth pondering going into UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo this weekend.

Whether they'll be answered, or whether they will end up posing more questions, of course, only time will tell.

Here, then, are five questions that could be answered at UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo.

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#5. Can Jeremy Stephens repay the UFC's decision to bring him back?

If you rewind back into the mid-2000's, at the height of success for Team Miletich, the UFC was packed with fighters based in Iowa.

That isn't so much the case right now, which probably explains the promotion's decision to bring back lightweight veteran Jeremy Stephens for this show.

'Lil Heathen' has not fought in the octagon since 2021, when he capped off a six-fight winless streak with a submission loss to Mateusz Gamrot.

Unfortunately, he hasn't really been on a tear since departing, either. A run in the PFL saw him go 1-2, while he also looked past his best in a boxing loss to Chris Avila in 2023. He has gone 3-0 in a bare knuckle boxing stint, but how much fans can take from that is anyone's guess.

At the age of 38, then, it's quite hard to justify him returning to the UFC's roster. One way he could repay their faith, of course, is to beat Mason Jones at the weekend.

Whether he's capable of that is anyone's guess, though. Jones washed out of the octagon in 2022, but has won his last four fights in a row.

Stephens was always a favorite of Dana White and company, but if he loses this weekend, his return will seem pointless. Whether he can make sure that isn't the case is a very fair question to ask.

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#4. Will Cameron Smotherman or Serhiy Sidey justify their card placement?

Up until last week, this weekend's event was supposed to feature a main card bout pitting heavyweights Justin Tafa and Tuco Tokkos against one another. However, the fight has since been cancelled.

The preliminary card for this event features some big names, including a former titleholder in Miesha Tate, a former headliner in Marina Rodriguez, and a TUF winner in Ryan Loder. However, none of those fighters have been elevated to the main card.

Instead, the UFC has chosen to move a bantamweight fight between two unheralded fighters - Cameron Smotherman and Serhiy Sidey - into the spot.

Even on a smaller event like this one, a main card bout is almost guaranteed to be seen by more fans than a preliminary bout.

If Smotherman or Sidey can win big, they could well see their stock rise substantially. If they end up putting on a forgettable fight, though, it's unlikely they'll be given this opportunity again.

The big question, then, is whether either of these fighters will make the most of the extra spotlight they're being offered this weekend.

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#3. Is Montel Jackson a dark horse contender at 135 pounds?

One ranked fighter who is flying under the radar somewhat going into this weekend's UFC event is Montel Jackson.

Ranked at No. 15 in the bantamweight division, 'Quik' has not fought since July, but he is riding an excellent win streak. He's won his last five bouts in the octagon, and his last visit saw him dispatch the dangerous and underrated Da'Mon Blackshear in just 18 seconds.

With incredibly fast hands and big power in his punches, Jackson could well be a dark horse contender in one of the UFC's most loaded divisions.

This weekend is his chance to prove his worth. Faced with a hard-nosed and difficult opponent in Daniel Marcos - who is 17-0 and has four wins in the octagon - 'Quik' is likely to be pushed to his limit.

If he can pull off another big win, then, we can expect a lot more hype around his name next week. Whether he can produce the goods is definitely an intriguing question going into Des Moines.

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#2. Is Bo Nickal still a prospect worth getting excited over?

Few prospects have ever entered the UFC with as much hype as Bo Nickal.

A three-time NCAA Division I national champion wrestler, he made his debut in 2023 after two wins on Dana White's Contender Series. Since then, he's won four straight fights in the octagon.

However, his last victory, over veteran Paul Craig, was not so impressive, and saw Nickal widely booed by the fans for his approach. Essentially, it was a dull bout overall that saw the two men trade tepid strikes for three rounds.

So is Nickal still a prospect worth getting excited over? We should find out this weekend, when he faces grappler Reinier de Ridder.

'The Dutch Knight' probably lacks the athleticism to reach the top of the middleweight division, but he's still a very dangerous submission artist, as he showed in his win over Kevin Holland.

As we've seen with fighters like Johny Hendricks and Josh Koscheck in the past, it doesn't take much improvements to turn a top wrestler into a very dangerous fighter.

However, both of those men did have more experience than Nickal when the switch flicked for them, and they were also facing opponents further down the ladder than both Craig or de Ridder.

If Nickal can take out de Ridder in impressive fashion, then, it'll show that it's well worth getting hyped over his future title hopes. If he loses, or wins in tepid fashion again, it might be worth the UFC slowing his push down a little.

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#1. Can Deiveson Figueiredo establish himself as a bantamweight title contender?

This weekend's headline bout will see two top ten bantamweights facing off, as Cory Sandhagen will go to war with Deiveson Figueiredo.

Both of these men are coming off losses, but a big win for either here, particularly via finish, could propel them back into UFC title contention.

The fighter who has more to gain, though, is probably Figueiredo.

Sandhagen is ranked higher, currently sitting at No. 4 in the division. However, it's arguable that despite his excellent skills, he's more of a high-end gatekeeper than a real contender.

The evidence to back this up is hard to deny. Sandhagen has beaten Rob Font, Marlon Vera and Song Yadong in recent years. However, he's also lost to Petr Yan, Umar Nurmagomedov, TJ Dillashaw, and Aljamain Sterling.

Essentially, if a fighter can beat Sandhagen, they're probably worthy of making a run at the bantamweight title.

So can Figueiredo join that list of fighters? 'Deus da Guerra' has beaten Font, Vera and Cody Garbrandt since moving to 135 pounds, and went the distance in a losing effort against Yan last year.

If the former flyweight king can take out Sandhagen, then a title shot would surely lie in the future for him. A loss won't move him too far down the ladder, but at the age of 37, his chances of becoming bantamweight champ would be all but over.

Therefore, whether he can show himself to be a legitimate contender - or whether he'll be another victim of Sandhagen - is this weekend's ultimate question.