With the bantamweight belt currently searching for a new owner, two top-ranked fighters in the division in Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen will each look to take a step closer to a title fight when they meet in Las Vegas at UFC 250. Both fighters are carrying win streaks, but only one can come away with his unbeaten run still intact. Read on for a preview of this fight, but first, register below to make your pick.
Sterling is a man on a mission, and you can easily tell that by his recent string of strong performances. The man they call “Funk Master” has won all his last four fights, each in convincing fashion. After earning a unanimous decision win over Brett Johns and a submission victory against Cody Stamann, both in 2018, Sterling made splashes in 2019 as well by collecting two unanimous decision wins over Jimmie Rivera and Pedro Munhoz. Sterling isn’t known to have a tremendous stand-up game, but he’s a force on the ground, with seven wins via submissions against zero such losses. He’s got sound striking defense, nevertheless, as he absorbs just 1.45 strikes per minute, largely because he’s always bringing the fight to the ground. Moreover, he is dishing out 4.18 significant strikes per minute.
Sandhagen must have forgotten how it is like to lose, as he hasn’t in nearly three years. Since absorbing his only loss so far, a unanimous decision setback at the hands of Luiz Antonio Gavinho during his days in the Legacy Fighting Alliance in 2018, Sanhagen has gone 7-0, including five wins in the UFC. Sandhagen is a bolt of energy inside the octagon. He is landing 8.89 significant strikes per minute, one of the highest not only in his division but among all fighters in the UFC. On the flip side, he is taking 2.73 strikes per minute. That’s not a bad ratio for Sandhagen, who’s ranked fourth in the bantamweight division. In his win over Raphael Assunção last year, Sandhagen unleashed 120 total strikes, 104 were counted as significant strikes. His level of striking activity is a threat to Sterling.
