UFC delivers its first event in Des Moines, Iowa, headlined by a pivotal bantamweight bout that will see No. 4 ranked contender Cory Sandhagen collide with No. 5 Deiveson Figueiredo. The co-main event will see No. 13 ranked middleweight contender Reinier De Ridder square off with undefeated Bo Nickal. UFC FIGHT NIGHT: SANDHAGEN vs FIGUEIREDO takes place Sat., May 3 at Wells Fargo Arena. The entire card will be available on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, as well as simulcast on ESPN+ in English and Spanish, starting with the prelims at 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT. The main card will then kick off at 10 pm ET / 7 pm PT.

Cory Sandhagen has been in or around the Top 5 of the bantamweight division for the last several years and for good reason. The 33 year-old “Sandman” has excellent standup, establishing creative angles while employing good footwork. He’s also an effective offensive wrestler, though his defensive wrestling leaves a lot to be desired. You could probably put Sandhagen into a bantamweight title fight in case of emergency and get little to no pushback from fans, simply because the Coloradan is such an entertaining fighter. To wit, Sandhagen has four post-fight performance bonuses with four “Fight of the Night” honors. Unfortunately, something is still missing and whatever that X-factor is, it’s keeping “The Sandman” from capturing a world title. Sandhagen beats most of the division Top 10 but ultimately falls to former champions and top contenders like Petr Yan and Umar Nurmagomedov. Those losses were not blowouts by any stretch of the imagination, but they weren't robberies, either, establishing a clear ceiling for Sandhagen among the current crop of 135-pound title hopefuls.

Deiveson Figueiredo is a former flyweight champion who struggled mightily to make the 125-pound mark, forcing a long overdue jump to 135 pounds. Unfortunately, Figueiredo still has a flyweight’s physique, standing 5’5” with a 68” reach. That gives him considerable disadvantages against a rangy striker like Sandhagen, though we can’t overlook the Brazilian’s early success at bantamweight. Choking out Cody Garbrandt doesn't mean a whole lot in 2024 but Figueiredo had solid victories over Rob Font and Marlon Vera, two very tough outs in the 135-pound weight class. Then came his loss to Petr Yan, which has me rethinking his chances at bantamweight. Figueiredo is 37 years old and certainly looked it against “No Mercy,” getting comically out-struck 190-53 across five rounds of action. I know everyone has an off night from time to time, but only landing 53 strikes in 25 minutes is concerning, especially considering Sandhagen will present many of the same problems on the feet. Figueiredo will have to rely on his aggressiveness, as well as his chin, to keep Sandhagen from settling into a rhythm. In addition, look for “Deus da Guerra” to lean heavily on his offensive wrestling, which has as much to do with shutting down kicks (and disrupting footwork) as it does getting the fight to the floor. Whether or not Figueiredo has the conditioning to keep that up for all five rounds remains to be seen, but I’m not feeling overly optimistic about his chances.