Cory Sandhagen is nearing a return to the Octagon.
Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland has reported a fight between Sandhagen and Song Yadong is being targeted as the headliner for an upcoming UFC Fight Night in September. The location and venue have not been determined yet.
On a two-fight losing streak, the ’Sandman’ has not fought since losing a unanimous decision to Petr Yan for the interim UFC bantamweight championship at UFC 267 last October. Sandhagen also lost a razor-thin split decision to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC Vegas 32 this past July. Prior to those losses, he earned ‘Performance of the Night’ awarded finishes of Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar, the latter being a 28-second flying knee knockout.
The No. 4 ranked contender began his UFC career on a 5-0 run that included wins against notable names such as Iuri Alcântara, John Lineker and Raphael Assunção. His first defeat in the UFC came against current champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 250 over two years ago.
Yadong has won three consecutive fights, a split decision over Casey Kenney at UFC 265 and two knockouts of Julio Arce and the aforementioned Moraes at UFC Vegas 42 and UFC Vegas 50, respectively. The Team Alpha Male product currently occupies the No. 9 spot in the rankings. A win over Sandhagen could see him skyrocket to the top five of the bantamweight division.
The UFC Fight Night does not have an official headliner. With the addition of Sandhagen vs. Yadong, the event now has five confirmed fights. The line-up is as follows:
- Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong
- Andre Fili vs. Lando Vannata
- Trevin Giles vs. Louis Cosce
- Nikolas Motta vs. Cameron VanCamp
- Trey Ogden vs. Daniel Zellhuber
Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more updates on the event in the coming weeks.
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