UFC Fight Night Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen Preview and Pick

UFC Fight Night 179 involves two excellent bantamweight fighters, Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen. These two guys hope to get a chance to fight for the title belt with a win here, which makes this event very interesting.

Moraes (23-6-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is here following a win over Jose Aldo, but it seems that this triumph wasn’t enough for the UFC to give him another shot at the title. Aldo was the one who was picked to face Petr Yan in the fight for the belt vacated after Henry Cejudo’s retirement.

That one was a close call, and it isn’t fair to say that Moraes won confidently. Some were even suggesting that the UFC allowed Aldo to fight Yan as the compensation for the injustice against Moraes.

A hard puncher and experienced fighter that he is, Moraes knows how to behave in matches such as this one. In recent times he defeated many big names, John Dodson, Jimmie Rivera, Raphael Assuncao, and Aljamain Sterling, the No.1 contender now.

Unlike Moraes, Sandhagen’s hot-streak ended against Aljamain Sterling, who swiftly finished off the American via submission in the first round. It was a massive setback for the Sandman, as the fans call him because this fight was apparently for the next title challenger.

Sandhagen (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) posted his first loss on the UFC and snapped a seven-match triumphant stretch. He likes to attack his opponents and to be risky, regardless of the face across the octagon. One other thing which is characteristic of the Sandman is his ability to eat a few punches before reaching the target.

Sandhagen is the favorite, and, frankly, that is a bit odd. When looking at the big picture, Moraes’ win seems more realistic because of his leg kicks, which could be the factor that decides this event. Sandhagen’s tactics will include keeping the distance, logically with his legs more often than hands. Still, if Moraes attacks him first and chops the leading leg, the Brazilian’s chances of reaching Sandman’s chin are dramatically increasing.

Once he does that, the veteran will be 50-50% to knock out the rival. It does sound odd, but remember how Alexander Vokanovski prevented Max Holloway from keeping the distance in their first fight.

Thereby, the final pick is Moraes.