Cory Sandhagen Faces Off against Former Flyweight King Deiveson Figueiredo

Could we see new a new challenger or Merab Dvalishvili at 135 lbs?

Cory "the Sandman" Sandhagen is set to face off against Deiveson "Deus da Guerra" Figueiredo this Saturday, May 3rd at UFC Fight Night Iowa. The epic clash featuring the #4 and #5 ranked bantamweights in the world is a highly anticipated 5 round main event that's sure to excite fans. It's a matchup that's been a long time in the making as Cory Sanhagen mentioned in an interview last year that was expecting this fight, but that ultimately  Figueiredo turned it down for reasons unbeknownst to Sandhagen. It would be later announced that Figueiredo would be battling Petr Yan in Macao, a bout that "Deus da Geurra" would ultimately lose.

This leads us to the fight in Des Moines, where Figueiredo has another opportunity to dethrone a 135-pound staple and take their ranking, potentially catapulting him back into the conversation for a title shot at the sitting king, Merab Dvalishvili. This marks the fifth UFC Fight Night main event appearance for Cory as he looks to rebound from his most recent performance against Umar Nurmagomedov, where he dropped a competitive but ultimately dominant decision.

Both men were on a hot streak before this fight, arguable one win away from a title shot, and with a win this weekend could present a strong case in a division where parity for the current champion is needed. In his second title defense Dvalishvili is already heading into a rematch with the most recent 135 pound champion, Sean O'Malley. The next viable contender is Petr Yan, who in all fairness, would most likely be strongly considered for a crack at the belt next if Merab didn't 50-45 him in his most impressive performance to date.

Besides a potential Yan vs Nurmagomedov matchup which would leave either fighter a clear contender for the belt but would also present another set of rematches, not much is on the horizon for "The Machine" Dvalishvili. Merab is already riding a 12 fight win streak and has cleared some of the most impressive names in the divisions history. His last 5 fights are as follows. a win over the former featherweight king and first ballot Hall of Famer Jose Aldo, dominant win of former champion Petr Yan, dominant win of former double champion Henry Cejudo, championship win over one of the most accomplished strikers in bantamweight history Sean O'Malley, and an impressive win over the ever talented undefeated prospect Umar Nurmagomedov.

If the fighters that Merab has wins over keep winning, this would especially cause problems for potential new matchups in the divisions. Not to mention the fall of rising prospects such as Kyler Phillips and Payton Talbot. This makes it all the more likely that the winner of this Saturday nights puts themselves on a short list for a chance to fight for belt, especially if there is an injury.

My recommendation? Whoever is able to pull off the win on Saturday, grab the mic and immediately offer to be the backup for the upcoming between Dvalishivili and O'Malley on Saturday, June 7th in Newark New Jersey. We've seem a similar move work recently Ian " The Future" Garry who has made it his priority to leapfrog the 6 contenders ahead of himself for a bid at the welterweight strap. It seems his boldness has effectively landed him the very opportunity he seeks as Dana White confirmed in the post fight press conference that Garry would in fact be the backup for 170 pound title fight between Muhammad and Della Maddalena. After that, the winner of Sandhagen vs Figueiredo should call out whoever loses the 135 pound championship fight.

This fight should be a masterclass in mixed martial arts between high level, well rounded fighters. The matchup itself presents an opportunity for some interesting developments in the division.