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The UFC bantamweight clash between Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera reportedly has a new date and venue.
According to a report by Sports Illustrated, Sandhagen vs. Vera will now take place in the main event of the UFC Fight Night event on March 25 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The fight was initially scheduled to headline the Fight Night card on February 18 at UFC Apex.
The UFC is yet to officially announce the change in schedule or a new headliner for the February 18 event.
MMA journalist Marcel Dorff set up a poll on Twitter a few days ago, asking fans to vote on whether Sandhagen vs. Vera should get to headline the March 25 card at AT&T Stadium instead of the rumored Raquel Pennington vs. Irene Aldana. Fans voted in Sandhagen vs. Vera's favor in landslide numbers.
Vera and Sandhagen are ranked No. 4 and No. 5 respectively in the bantamweight rankings. 'Chito' has been on a winning streak since bouncing back from the loss to Jose Aldo with a win over Davey Grant in June 2021. Since then, he has amassed victories over Frankie Edgar, Rob Font, and most recently Dominick Cruz in spectacular fashion.
'Sandman', on the other hand, has been on a less impressive journey. After dropping two decisions back to back to T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan, Sandhagen finally managed a win with a doctor's stoppage TKO against Song Yadong in September last year.
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling finally reveals return timeline
The UFC has been toying with the idea of the return of Henry Cejudo in a title fight against Aljamain Sterling. However, the current champion's torn bicep is what continued to delay the potentially explosive matchup.
However, 'Funk Master' will be traveling to Colombia this weekend to receive another stem cell replacement therapy to fast-track the recovery process.
In a recent interview with The Schmo, Sterling revealed that once the treatment does its job, he will be ready to put the belt on the line in May. Sterling predicted a second-round finish against 'Triple C' in the fight.
He also revealed that once he's done running through the former double champion, he will be done with the bantamweight division and move up to featherweight. The only fight that could tempt him enough to fight at 135lbs. again is a money fight with Sean O'Malley, Sterling admitted.
Watch the interview below:
