The UFC is planning on having a big time bantamweight fight headline their fight night on October 10th. According to multiple reports, Magic Marlon Moraes (23-6-1) will be taking on Cory Sandhagen (12-2).
Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen in the works to headline #UFC's Oct. 10 event https://t.co/7qiv52eMZs
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) August 7, 2020
What does the mean for UFC’s title pictures?
Originally, it was being reported that the UFC was trying to book Moraes with former champion, Cody Garbrandt. However, Garbrandt recently told Ariel Helwani that he was wanting to drop to flyweight to take on the champion, Deiveson Figueiredo.
With the UFC moving to book Moraes/Sandhagen, it looks like the writing is on the wall with a couple of title fights. One being the title fight between Garbrandt and Firgueiredo while the other title fight will be Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling.
Dana White has been hesitant to say that Sterling was next for Yan after Yan won the title at UFC 251. However, with all other top contenders booked, it appears that the UFC will be making Yan – Sterling after all.
Moraes – Sandhagen
Now back to this fight. This is a fantastic matchup in the bantamweight division. I’m a little surprised that the UFC is having Sandhagen fight a guy like Moraes after he was steamrolled by Sterling in the first round.
I was thinking maybe a guy like Jimmie Rivera could have been next for Sandhagen. Either way, it’s a big time fight for the division. A win for either of these guys might put them in line for a title shot next.
Moraes was in a weird spot after his last fight. He beat Jose Aldo, but the court of public opinion gave Aldo the win. Even the UFC gave Aldo a title shot over Moraes. The former title challenger will look to cement his top contender status with a win over Sandhagen.
The UFC‘s bantamweight division is on fire right now. The weight class is filled with tremendous talent and they have budding superstars. This will be a division to keep your eyes on moving forward.