UFC Vegas 60 (Sandhagen vs. Yadong) Preview
The UFC is heading back to the Apex in Las Vegas for UFC Vegas 60 on Saturday, September 17. The main event will be a bantamweight battle between #4 Cory Sandhagen and #10 Song Yadong. The winner of this fight could make a great case for a title eliminator fight after the belt is put on the line next month.
Sandhagen is trying to rebound from two straight losses having most recently challenged for an interim title at UFC 267 last October where he lost to former champion Petr Yan by unanimous decision. That followed a split decision loss to former champion TJ Dillashaw in a fight many people believe Sandhagen won.
In the days of callouts and rankings politics, the 30-year-old is not worried about fighting someone lower in the rankings. “The rankings are just for people to understand the guys that are fighting better because there are a lot of fighters in the UFC, and when they have a certain number next to them, it gives them a level of importance that they may or may not be qualified for,” Sandhagen told reporters at media day on Wednesday. “But I think Song is definitely a top-10 guy. I think he’s a very good fighter, I think he’s beat some really good guys before, and that’s why I’m willing to fight him.
Sandhagen went on to say, “I do think he’s good, and he brings a danger that it’s easy for me to wake up for and get up in the mornings.”
The Colorado native has not fought in nearly a year, but he believes the time off is exactly what he needed to get back on track. “It was a great time away,” Sandhagen said. “It was definitely needed. I just wanted to develop some of the skills that I needed to develop that I feel that I really need in order to be champ. Lost a couple of close ones recently, so got kind of sick of that, so wanted to fix that. It was good time away. I really needed it in order to become an actual champion.”
Sandhagen has key victories in his career over Frankie Edgar, Marlon Moraes, Raphael Assuncao and John Lineker. He has finished nine of his 14 wins and of his four losses, only one has been by finish where he was submitted by champion Aljamain Sterling.
A win on Saturday will not likely put Sandhagen in position to challenge for the title next, but it does put him on the growing list. The bantamweight title is on the line at UFC 280 next month between champion Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw, both of which have defeated Sandhagen. Also on that card is a fight between #1 Petr Yan and rising star and fan favorite #13 Sean O’Malley. Many believe the winner between Yan and O’Malley will get the next title shot. Sandhagen has been beaten by three of the four fighters mentioned so he must only concentrate on winning now and not worry about the future title picture.
Yadong would have plenty to say about a title shot with a win on Saturday which would make four straight victories for the rising contender. “I think if I finish Cory, I think I got the title fight,” Yadong told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC media day. “If not, one more. Just one more.”
He does not think Sandhagen’s back-to-back losses mean he is not still a tough opponent. “He lost two fights in a row, but he’s still dangerous,” Yadong said of Sandhagen. “He’s lost to top fighters. He’s still good.”
Yadong knows he has a long way to go but believes he is heading in the right direction. “I’m still young,” Yadong said. “I think this is just the beginning. I will go hard.”
Despite having wins over Marlon Moraes and Marlon Vera, a win over Sandhagen would be the biggest of Yadong’s career. He has the ability to create more chaos in an ultra-competitive division loaded with contenders and title threats.
The rest of the main card:
Middleweight - Chidi Njokuani vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Featherweight - Andre Fili vs. Bill Algeo
Middleweight - Joseph Pyfer vs. Alen Amedovski
Heavyweight - Tanner Boser vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
Middleweight - Anthony Hernandez vs. Marc-André Barriault
ESPN + Prelims:
Featherweight - Damon Jackson vs. Pat Sabatini
Welterweight - Trevin Giles vs. Louis Cosce
Women's Bantamweight - Aspen Ladd vs. Sara McMann
Women's Strawweight - Denise Gomes vs. Loma Lookboonmee
Lightweight - Trey Ogden vs. Daniel Zellhuber
Women's Flyweight - Mariya Agapova vs. Gillian Robertson
Bantamweight - Tony Gravely vs. Javid Basharat
Lightweight - Nikolas Motta vs. Cameron VanCamp
