UFC Fight Night: Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen Betting Guide (2020)
With just two fight cards remaining between now and the much anticipated UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje, the UFC has still stacked each of them for their second run on the now-infamous “Fight Island.â€
Located off the coast of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the island’s location gives international fighters on the roster a chance to still earn, despite the pandemic that has locked down much of the world’s travel. Before the main event of October goes off in a few weeks, let’s take a closer look at the main event of the weekend.
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Marlon Moraes (23-6-1) vs. Cory Sandhagen (12-2-0)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
One of the more overlooked weight classes in the sport, the bantamweight division, will be on display at it’s best this weekend when the #1 contender to the title Marlon Moraes takes on (#4) Cory Sandhagen. For Moraes, a second shot at the title will likely be on the line as the winner of this fight should for all intents and purposes face the winner of the pending Aljamin Sterling vs. Petr Yan (current Champion) match.
The last time we saw Moraes inside the octagon was in December, a split decision win over Jose Aldo. Prior to that, Moraes got his first shot at bantamweight glory, losing in the third round to Henry Cejudo at UFC 238 in a fight in which in spurts he certainly looked like he belonged in.
Moraes’ challenger on Saturday comes in the form of a dangerous grappling expert in Sandhagen. Standing with a record 5-1 since his relatively recent entry (2018) into the UFC, Sandhagen suffered his first loss with the company the last time we saw him in the octagon.
Facing Sterling at UFC 250 this past summer, Sandhagen got caught early, losing via submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round. Since making his debut in early 2018, Sandhagen has wins via TKO and submission, as well as split and unanimous decisions.
Bottom Line
For me in this one, the size advantage Sandhagen has (5’11†vs. 5’6″) can’t be overlooked given his propensity to take fights to the ground and just manhandle his opponent. If it were not for getting caught early by Sterling in June, this fight likely doesn’t happen and it’s Sandhagen fighting Yan for the title belt in the coming months.
If Moraes can not put this one away early as Sterling did, I expect Sandhagen to use his tenacious pace and size advantage to wear out his opponent and get the victory here.
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.