5 fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

The latest UFC event is in the books, as the promotion returned to Iowa for the first time in 25 years. In the end, it was a solid enough show.

UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo saw some fighter make major statements, so what's next for them?

As always, the promotion's matchmakers will have their hands full finding the best paths for these fighters going forward. On that note, let's check out the five fights to make following the event.

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#5. UFC middleweight bout: Azamat Bekoev vs. Eryk Anders

One fighter who shone quietly this weekend was Azamat Bekoev. He picked up his second win in the UFC by destroying TUF 32 winner Ryan Loder in the first round of their middleweight bout.

'Kingpin' is now on an eight-fight win streak, and is an impressive 20-3 overall. Loder was a good win, but it's probably time to push the Russian up the ladder a bit for his next fight.

Bekoev perhaps isn't ready for a top fifteen ranked foe though, so why not match him with Eryk Anders?

'Ya Boi' has been in the UFC for years now, dating back to 2017, and everyone knows what he brings to the table: athleticism, punching power and experience.

Despite his clear strengths, though, Anders has enough weaknesses and holes in his game to make him a beatable foe for prospects.

Right now, his stock is quite high, as he's coming off a win that also saw him retire a UFC legend in Chris Weidman. Therefore, this would be an excellent fight for Bekoev to see if he could make a step up.

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#4. UFC welterweight bout: Daniel Rodriguez vs. Chidi Njokuani

While the fight may have said more about the future prospects of Santiago Ponzinibbio than anything else, Daniel Rodriguez still picked up an impressive win last night.

'D-Rod' utterly dismantled the Argentine veteran with heavy punches, eventually dispatching him in the third round after hurting him on numerous occasions.

The win was Rodriguez's first stoppage since 2021, and leaves him on a two-fight win streak after he defeated Alex Morono last year.

At this stage, though, Rodriguez is not going to develop into a UFC title contender and should be used almost purely to make fun-sounding brawls.

Therefore, a solid foe for him next could be Chidi Njokuani. 'Chidi Bang Bang' has won his first three fights in the octagon as a welterweight, and scored a big knockout last time out.

If he could take out the tough Rodriguez in similar fashion, it might be worth pushing him up against a ranked foe. If Rodriguez could win, though, it'd further affirm him as a solid gatekeeper for the division. It's a fight that definitely makes sense.

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#3. UFC bantamweight bout: Montel Jackson vs. Rob Font

Montel Jackson followed up his brilliant knockout of Da'Mon Blackshear with a more workmanlike performance to beat Daniel Marcos last night, and that has left him flying under the radar.

However, 'Quik' is almost certainly a dark horse in the UFC's bantamweight division, and given he's on a six-fight win streak now, it's time to move him up the ladder.

The promotion could match him with the winner of the upcoming Jose Aldo vs. Aiemann Zahabi fight, or even the winner of another upcoming fight between Marlon Vera and Mario Bautista.

However, a better foe for him could be Rob Font. The longtime gatekeeper, who is ranked at No.8, turned away a last-minute opponent in Jean Matsumoto earlier this year, and should be good to go again soon.

Given Font's overall striking skills, it'd be fascinating to see if Jackson could find a way to beat him. If he could, then it'd be time to move him into title contention, and if he couldn't, he wouldn't lose all that much given Font's high standing in the division.

Overall, this could be a great bout to book for a Fight Night main card in the future.

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#2. UFC middleweight bout: Reinier de Ridder vs. Jared Cannonier

The biggest upset at last night's event was sprung by Reinier de Ridder. 'The Dutch Knight' dominated touted prospect Bo Nickal en route to a second-round TKO win, moving his UFC record to 3-0.

Quite how much of this win was down to Nickal being a little overhyped is a fair question, but it's impossible not to credit de Ridder hugely for this win.

'The Dutch Knight' has plenty of options on the table in the middleweight division, with the likes of Roman Dolidze, Brendan Allen and Anthony Hernandez all making plenty of sense as opponents.

However, perhaps the best foe for him could be former title contender Jared Cannonier.

'The Killa Gorilla' bounced back from a bad run to TKO Gregory Rodrigues in his last fight, and his heavy handed striking style and takedown defense would be sure to test de Ridder's skills.

Given de Ridder is already 34 years old, there's no point in slow playing things with the Dutchman. Therefore, giving him a crack at someone as highly rated as Cannonier would definitely make sense, perhaps in a Fight Night headliner.

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#1. UFC bantamweight bout: Cory Sandhagen vs. Petr Yan

Last night's bantamweight headliner between Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo definitely had high stakes.

The two fighters went into the bout ranked at No.4 and No.5 respectively, and given neither had fought current champ Merab Dvalishvili before, the word was that an impressive showing could net the winner a title shot.

In the end, it was Sandhagen who produced that impressive showing, using a leglock to injure Figueiredo's knee, forcing him to submit in the second round.

So should 'The Sandman' be granted the next title shot at the winner of UFC 316's headliner between Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley? That's what he called for after the fight.

However, the truth is that due to his losses to Petr Yan and Umar Nurmagomedov, he probably still isn't quite at the front of the queue.

The best fight for him, therefore, might be a rematch with Yan, who also beat Figueiredo in late 2024.

Yan and Sandhagen first fought in 2021, putting on a five-round thriller that 'No Mercy' just about edged. With both men now hunting for a title fight, it'd be the perfect time to run the fight back.

If Sandhagen could beat the Russian, then denying him a title fight would become nigh-on impossible. This would be the perfect headliner for a big Fight Night card later in the year.