This past Saturday in the main event at UFC Vegas 32, we saw an instant classic in the bantamweight division. Former champion TJ Dillashaw (17-4) made his return as he took on the surging top contender Cory Sandhagen (14-3).
Heading into UFC Vegas 32, this was one of the most highly anticipated main events of the year. Dillashaw’s return combined with the rise of Sandhagen created a lot of intrigue around this main event.
Before the fight, I was expecting Sandhagen to pick up the win, but in a razor close fight. I just figured that he would be a bit sharper with having fought so much and I also just figured it was his time to shine.
TJ Dillashaw proved to be just as good as he was when he was champion on Saturday night. At UFC Vegas 32, Cory Sandhagen definitely did more damage overall when it comes to the striking.
However, Dillashaw did a great job of exploding when he needed to and utilizing a lot of control along the fence. Heading into the final round, it was truly anyone’s fight. I gave the final round to Dillashaw, but in reality, nobody lost at UFC Vegas 32.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 32?
Ultimately, two judges gave the fight to Dillashaw and he got the split decision win. However, as I said, there really wasn’t a loser on Saturday night. Yes, Sandhagen walked away with a loss on his record.
However, the match makers have already told him that he’s still only one win away from a title shot. While Dillashaw is getting the title shot next, Sandhagen is in virtually the exact same position as he was in before UFC Vegas 32.
So with that in mind, what’s next for The Sandman? To me, there’s only one fight that makes sense and it’s the fight the UFC should make. Cory Sandhagen needs to fight Rob Font (19-4) next.
Font has won four fights in a row and he’s ranked in the top five. Like Sandhagen, Font appears only one win away from earning a UFC title shot. The easy answer here is to have these two fight and the winner would get a title shot sometime in 2022.