Cory Sandhagen baffles and dominantly out-classes Marlon Vera in UFC on ESPN 43 main event
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to us tonight, March 25, 2023, for UFC on ESPN 43, going down live from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Headlining the event was a bantamweight showdown between a pair of dangerous finishers in no. 3 ranked Marlon Vera (20-7-1) and no. 5 ranked Cory Sandhagen (15-4).
Vera came into tonight’s main event on a four-fight win streak, most recently having defeated the likes of Davey Grant (UD) in their rematch, former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (KO), Rob Font (UD), and former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (KO).
Sandhagen on the other hand came in having just defeated Song Yadong (TKO) following back-to-back defeats to current champion Aljamain Sterling and former champion Petr Yan.
Continue reading to see how this epic bantamweight main event went down:
Official Result: Cory Sandhagen def. Marlon Vera via split decision (47-48, 50-45, 49-46)
Sandhagen is switching stances early on, as he does so well, and is landing good leg kicks. He shoots in on a takedown, though he misses the first attempt before securing the second. Sandhagen remains on top of Vera for the second half of the round, reigning down nice punches and elbows from top position.
Vera lands some good elbows of his own from the bottom, but the opening stretch was a dominant round for Sandhagen.
Vera lands some good punches to begin the second, but Sandhagen shoots in on another takedown attempt, where Vera pulls guard for a guillotine choke he ultimately doesn’t get.
Sandhagen remains on top until the final 80 seconds of the round, he’s really on point tonight. He’s looking good on the feet, and he’s absolutely dominating Vera on the mat. But, Vera is known to be a slow starter, and he’s one of the very best in the sport at making mid-fight adjustments.
Vera has a much better round three, as he’s able to stuff Sandhagen’s takedown attempts and keep the fight on its feet, fighting at his pace. He’s doing a good job of making Sandhagen miss, though two beautiful right uppercuts, as well as some leg kicks got through. Vera’s striking also began to open up in the third.
Though Vera has a much better round three, Sandhagen really begins to baffle him in the fourth with his superior footwork, head movement, and variety of strikes coming from seemingly every angle.
It’s very evident Vera needs a finish in the final five minutes.
Sandhagen continues to out-strike and baffle Vera throughout the fifth and final round. He secures another takedown and spends a couple minutes on top, and he barely got hit.
Vera did muster up some combinations in the final 15 seconds, but it wasn’t enough; Sandhagen out-wrestled him handily, and out-struck him significantly in every single round.
Cory Sandhagen snaps Marlon Vera’s win streak to extend his own at UFC on ESPN 43.
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