Cory Sandhagen didn't just find his way back into the win column on Saturday night, he might have leapt into possible bantamweight title contention, or at least the No. 1-contender spot. Squaring off against current No. 1-ranked Marlon Moraes in the main event of UFC Fight Island 5, Sandhagen scored a highlight reel finish.
Sandhagen fought brilliantly in the first round, frequently chaning his stances while peppering away at Moraes with a mixture of leg and body kicks. Moraes, known for his power, tried to counter Sandhagen's attack but was unable to successfully find his target. Moraes did eventually catch one of Sandhagen's kicks to the body and managed to score a late takedown; however, he wasn't able to do much with it.
Sandhagen stayed busy in the second, continuing to switch up his techniques and control the flow of the fight. After announcing that he'd broken his opponent's orbital, Sandhagen fired off a spinning wheel kick that dropped Moraes to the mat. He quickly pounced and fired off a few more strikes before referee Marc Goddard stepped in and called an end to the fight. It was just the ninth spinning wheel kick knockout in UFC history.
Having lost to Aljamain Sterling in his previous fight, it's unlikely that Cory Sandhagen will get an immediate title fight, but he'll likely be in line to face the winner of the next bantamweight title fight. It's likely that Sterling will be next to fight current champion Petr Yan. Even Sandhagen believes he has to win one more fight before he gets his shot at the title.
"The only other guys that have an argument are TJ (Dillashaw) when he gets back and Frankie (Edgar)," Sandhagen said. "All the respect to both of those guys, but I want that belt. Those are the only two guys ahead of me and then I want the belt. I want the winner of Yan vs. Sterling."