UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Sandhagen Odds, Prediction and Fight Preview
This weekend’s main event features the bantamweight division’s No. 3 and No. 5 fighters, Marlon “Chito” Vera and Cory Sandhagen locking horns for a thrilling clash. With the 135-pound championship bout between Aljamain Sterling and returning former two-division world champion Henry Cejudo set for early May, this is another crucial matchup that will help determine the landscape of the division heading into the UFC 288 championship bout. Fans can expect a thrilling conclusion to a thrilling evening of action.
Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen
Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen, two promising bantamweights, battle it out as the night’s main event in San Antonio, with the winner likely moving on to the next round of championship contention.
Vera is coming into this event riding a four-fight win streak, having won twice in each of the past two years. He won by unanimous decision against Rob Font in the spring and then knocked out Dominick Cruz in the fourth round in August of last year. The 30-year-old is one of the most powerful fighters to emerge from the UFC’s development initiatives, and a victory here would put him one step closer to competing for the promotion’s ultimate prize: a world title.
Sandhagen got back on track in the win column with a fourth-round stoppage victory over Song Yadong in his lone 2022 appearance, following two close, competitive losses to TJ Dillashaw and Petr Yan. In his UFC career to date, the Colorado native has only lost to people who have held or gone on to hold the bantamweight title. He will look to switch places in the rankings by defeating Vera on Saturday night.
Sandhagen is a dynamic, fluid striker who uses a great deal of movement and throws in combination, making for an exciting fight, while Vera is always looking to do as much damage as possible, making this a very competitive and entertaining bout. A victory may not guarantee the winner a shot at the title, but it will keep them in the running going into the second quarter of 2023.
Odds: Cory Sandhagen -165 vs Marlon Vera +135
Our Predicition: If Sandhagen exercises patience and follows a set gameplan, he can etch out a decision victory over Vera.
In the co-main event, top-ranked bantamweights Holly Holm and Yana Santos square off to get their respective 2023 campaigns off to a good start.
In her lone 2022 appearance, Holm lost a highly debated split decision to Ketlen Vieira despite logging a tonne of control time and doing relatively little damage. After taking some time off to have her first child with husband and former title challenger Thiago Santos, Santos is ready to get back in the ring in July 2021 after losing to Irene Aldana via first-round stoppage.
It will be interesting to see how these seasoned veterans approach this pivotal pairing on Saturday, as every fight between ranked fighters in the bantamweight division carries significance because things in the Top 15 are quite fluid and a couple solid efforts can rocket a fighter up the rankings.
Austin Lingo vs. Nate Landwehr- Landwehr defeated David Onama by majority decision in their most recent bout, earning him his second consecutive post-fight bonus.Lingo steps in, subbing in for Alex Caceres only a few weeks after the bout with Ricardo Ramos was called off due to the Brazilian weighing in eight pounds over the featherweight limit and losing the bout. The Fortis MMA fighter has won two in a row by unanimous decision after losing his first professional bout by the same score.
In another featured bout, Andrea Lee and Maycee Barber, two of the top 15 pound-for-pound fighters in the world will square off.
The 34-year-old Lee is making her first appearance in the octagon since May of last year, when she was defeated by Viviane Araujo by unanimous decision. Lee will be hoping to regain the form that saw her win her first three UFC bouts before going 2-3 in her last five. Barber hopes to make it four consecutive victories after she has won three by decision since her first two professional defeats.
Currently ranked outside the Top 15, Saturday’s event provides an opportunity to not only move up the divisional ladder, but also make a statement in a weight class that has seen nonstop action over the past couple months and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Sandhagen Main Card Odds
Holly Holm NA vs Yana Santos NA
Alex Caceres -155 vs Nate Landwehr +135
Andrea Lee +175 vs Maycee Barber -205
Chidi Njokuani -165 vs Albert Duraev +140
UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Sandhagen Preliminary Card Odds
Alex Perez +170 vs Manel Kape -200
Daniel Pineda +190 vs Tucker Lutz -225
Steven Peterson -175 vs Lucas Alexander +150
Trevin Giles -120 vs Preston Parsons +100
CJ Vergara -260 vs Daniel Da Silva +220
Manuel Torres -200 vs Trey Ogden +170
Victor Altamirano -105 vs Vinicius Salvador -115
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