It wasn’t the finish most were hoping for, but it was definitely one that Cory Sandhagen can use to add to his momentum.
Sandhagen scored a finish of former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC Des Moines.
The two had a number of exchanges during the opening frame, but when the fight hit the ground, Sandhagen clearly was the one dominating. While Figueiredo tried to work one of Sandhagen’s legs for a submission, Sandhagen delivered strong punches from the top position.
Sandhagen followed his dominant first round by continuing to work his striking in the second round. Just under two minutes into the second round, Figueiredo was the one in control as the fight went to the ground. He’d look for an ankle lock when he became the bottom fighter, but Sandhagen easily got away from it.
Sandhagen then scored a takedown at the halfway mark of the round, scoring some strong shots from up top. Figueiredo looked for a kneebar, but Sandhagen reversed it as he continued to try and do damage working around Figueiredo’s guard and submission attempts. During one transition, as Sandhagen went into top control, Figueiredo’s leg bent awkwardly, causing Figueiredo to fall back and tap out due to injury as Sandhagen delivered strikes.
Cory Sandhagen Finishes Deiveson Figueiredo In UFC Des Moines Main Event
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Sandhagen has now won four of his last five fights. He came into this contest off his loss to Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Abu Dhabi in August.
Figueiredo has now lost two straight fights for the first time in his professional MMA career. He was defeated by former bantamweight champion Petr Yan in the main event of UFC Macau in November, a fight that snapped a three-fight win streak.
