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.
Sandhagen rebounded in impressive fashion from a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov, yet another fighter who defeated Sandhagen to earn a title shot. Now, Sandhagen is determined to convince matchmakers it’s his turn. Following his fourth win in his past five fights, he used his microphone time to demand that UFC give him a championship opportunity.
He wasn’t alone in this sentiment, with fellow fighter Brandon Royval tweeting, “Give Cory the next title shot!!! Dominant.”
Check out more social media reactions to the UFC Des Moines main event below.
Corey looked so sharp everywhere tonight! That angle must’ve hurt Figgy’s LCL. Had something similar happen in one of my fights #UFCDesMoines
— Chase Hooper (@chase_hooper) May 4, 2025
Sandhagen is definitely title ready looked sharp as hell on the ground
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) May 4, 2025
All that knee entanglement i figured that could happen. Either way great win for Cory was dominating #UFCDesMoines
— Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) May 4, 2025
I have watched a large number of UFC fights and this may be the 1st time in HISTORY that I have seen a FINISH BY SWEEP@corysandhagenx hit a great 50/50 sweep to get the win tonight https://t.co/wxQDOiokzt
— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (@FilthyTomLawlor) May 4, 2025
