Preview: UFC Des Moines ‘Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo’

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will stay in the Midwest for a second consecutive week, as the company makes its debut in Des Moines, Iowa, with UFC on ESPN 67 this Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena. An important bantamweight battle takes the main event slot, where Corey Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo look to keep themselves in the title picture at 135 pounds. The co-headliner offers plenty of intrigue, too, as much-hyped middleweight prospect Bo Nickal draws his toughest test to date in former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder. Further down the bill, welterweight veterans Santiago Ponzinibbio and Daniel Rodriguez should engage in an entertaining war, while Montel Jackson squares off with fellow rising bantamweight Daniel Marcos in another interesting affair at 135 pounds. Plus, the unexpected UFC return of Jeremy Stephens provides some local flavor.

Now to the UFC on ESPN 67 “Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo” preview:

Bantamweights

Cory Sandhagen (17-5, 10-4 UFC) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (24-4-1, 13-4-1 UFC)

ODDS: Sandhagen (-500), Figueiredo (+380)

What a difference one fight can make, at least in Sandhagen’s case. His rise through the bantamweight ranks was mostly unexpected, as his 2018 UFC debut was a complete afterthought, added to the card during fight week as a make-good for some other bouts that had fallen through. However, he established himself as a top contender within two years. Tall and long for the division, Sandhagen proved adept at balancing the use of his range and the application of aggression to coast past an impressive series of opponents. There were a few setbacks along the way, particularly against opponents who could slow him down through consistent pressure, but Sandhagen appeared to round into career-best form in late 2022 and early 2023. His dedication to striking volume was as clear as ever, he developed a strong wrestling game as a change-up and he generally showed an elite ability to both game plan for and adapt to each of his opponents. Sandhagen figured to be one of the next men up as the bantamweight title picture figured itself out, yet he kept taking fights that provided more risk than reward, including a 2023 win over Rob Font that saw him rely on his wrestling after tearing his triceps early in the match. In retrospect, that might have caused Sandhagen to miss his championship window, as it’s easy to see him possibly getting the title shot that Marlon Vera was awarded early in 2024. Instead, Sandhagen wound up making his return against Umar Nurmagomedov the following August. That’s where his momentum finally stopped. The result has aged better with Nurmagomedov’s near-miss in a championship fight against Merab Dvalishvili, but the Russian got an early jump on Sandhagen that seemingly took the American out of the fight, whether it was rust, age or just the Colorado native being caught off-guard by his counterpart’s own impressive performance. At any rate, Sandhagen looked somewhere between overly patient and outright lethargic, enough so that he has gone from clear future title contender to being on watch for a slide down the ladder, particularly since Figueiredo is far from an easy bounce-back opponent.

Figueiredo is an important figure in the history of the UFC’s flyweight division, as it seems like he was the first champion to truly capture fans’ imagination—something Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo surprisingly failed to do. Part of that was thanks to the Brazilian’s rare horsepower for a man his size. He memorably backhanded an opponent into unconsciousness on the regional scene, then kept up that level of violence at a championship level. After running through Joseph Benavidez and Alex Perez, Figueiredo’s first bit of difficulty as flyweight champion came against Brandon Moreno. Their first fight ended in a draw, triggering a four-fight series that saw the title move back and forth until Moreno won the deciding encounter and the rivalry. By that point, it was hard to remember exactly what Figueiredo’s game even looked like against a different opponent, so a move up to 135 pounds was a welcome fresh start in terms of division and opposition. Figueiredo has carried his standout power into his new weight class, allowing him to continue getting by with his slow-paced and opportunistic style, even mixing in more wrestling than he has in the past. He was able to outright finish Cody Garbrandt, but wins over Font and Vera showed that “Deus da Guerra” is as potent as ever in his late 30s, winning rounds based on his few bursts of offense. Even his first loss at 135 pounds, which came in a main event against Petr Yan in November, resulted in an impressive showing despite a clear decision. Figueiredo found his spots along every step of the way, never allowing Yan to truly run away with the fight. A lot of this comes down to exactly where Sandhagen stands in 2025. If he has suddenly lost his ability to pour on the pace, this could be a rough matchup. It seems like a guarantee that Figueiredo is going to hit hard a few times per round, so going shot-for-shot at a slow pace figures to fall right into the Brazilian’s hands. However, the read is that some of Sandhagen’s performance is attributable to Nurmagomedov, who got off to a hot start that Figueiredo is unlikely to match; and in general, the hope for Sandhagen is that his frustration was due to being technically outmatched rather than scared off by power, which is typically the type of neutralizing ability Figueiredo brings to the table. The lean is that Sandhagen should be able to rebound, though it comes with significant risk. The pick is Sandhagen via decision.

Jump To »
Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo
Nickal vs. de Ridder
Ponzinibbio vs. Rodriguez
Jackson vs. Marcos
Sidey vs. Smotherman
Jones vs. Stephens
The Prelims