Who will emerge in a key bantamweight showdown?
Not all that long ago, it felt like [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]’s quick and vicious flying-knee loss to Marlon Moraes would be the defining moment of his career. But Sterling (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) has since rallied back for four victories in a row and is back in bantamweight title contention.
[autotag]Cory Sandhagen,[/autotag] meanwhile, has hit no such rut. His win over Raphael Assuncao at UFC 241 put him at 5-0 in the UFC.
This would have been an important bout at 135 pounds under any circumstances, but the void left at 135 by the retirement of champ Henry Cejudo has made it all the more important. Will Sandhagen (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who has three finishes in his five UFC fights, add Sterling to that list? Or will Sterling implement his often boring, but undeniably effective grappling game to shut Sandhagen down?
The UFC has made it clear it wants Jose Aldo vs. Petr Yan as the fight to fill the vacant belt, though it isn’t finalized. With an impressive win here, who knows? Maybe Sterling or Sandhagen slide into one of those spots.
[opinary poll=”whats-your-pick-for-cory-sandhagen-vs-al-SL1aHJ” customer=”mmajunkie”]
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