Cory Sandhagen halts ‘Chito’s ascent

Sandhagen dominated Vera by split decision to win the UFC Fight Night main event from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, earning a key victory against a fighter ranked higher than him.

Two judges scored the bout convincingly for Sandhagen, with scores of 50-45 and 49-46. A third judge inexplicably scored the bout. A third judge inexplicably scored the bout 48-47 in favor of Vera.

Despite the split score, there was virtually no doubt that Sandhagen won, and in dominant fashion. According to UFC Stats, he outlanded Vera in total strikes, 193 to 71, and landed three knockdowns.

Sandhagen (16-4), who had already fought for the interim bantamweight championship in his career, entered the bout ranked No. 5 in the UFC rankings, while Vera (20-8-1) came in at No. 3 thanks to a four-fight win streak that came to an end.

“[The strategy was] to win the first few rounds and then know he was going to come after me,” Sandhagen said. “I knew that was going to happen. So I knocked him down early and moved my ass in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. That’s how you beat Chito. Chito is a good boxer.”

In addition to praising Vera, Sandhagen called for a No. 1 contender’s fight against Merab Dvalishvili (16-4), who is riding a nine-fight winning streak.

“I would feel very bad if I asked for the title before Merab,” Sandhagen said. “Merab is an animal. I have a lot of respect for him. I want the No. 1 spot. Merab, you’re hungry, I’ve got something for you to eat and it doesn’t taste good.”

It was the first fight for both this year. Vera was coming off an outstanding 2022, with a dominant win over fellow contender Rob Font in April and a head kick knockout win over former champion Dominick Cruz in August.

Vera, 30, had not lost a fight since December 2020 against legend Jose Aldo, and had won 10 of his last 12 fights overall before facing Sandhagen.

Sandhagen came into the bout on the heels of a fourth-round technical knockout victory over Song Yadong in September. With that win, the Colorado fighter snapped a streak of two consecutive losses to TJ Dillashaw and Petr Yan, the latter for the interim 135-pound title. Sandhagen, 30, has won nine of his 12 UFC fights.