‘Give Cory the next title shot’: Pros react to Cory Sandhagen’s dominant UFC Des Moines performance

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Cory Sandhagen wasn’t leaving Iowa without making a championship statement.

In the UFC Des Moines main event, “The Sandman” put a one-sided beatdown on Deiveson Figueiredo, showing off his striking, wrestling, and grappling to take out the two-time flyweight champion. Figueiredo was eventually forced to tap to a knee injury in Round 2, but by then Sandhagen had shown more than enough to legitimize himself as arguably the No. 1 contender in the bantamweight division.