UFC: Cory Sandhagen gets spinning wheel kick TKO vs Marlon Moraes; calls out TJ Dillashaw, Frankie Edgar
- American finishes No 1-ranked bantamweight contender in second round of UFC Fight Island 5 main event
- ‘I want a No 1 contender fight … one of TJ and Frankie, and then the belt afterwards,’ says Sandhagen
Cory Sandhagen called out former UFC champs TJ Dillashaw and Frankie Edgar after shocking Marlon Moraes on Fight Island with a spinning wheel kick TKO to move one step away from a bantamweight title shot.
The No 4-ranked Sandhagen (13-2) dropped “Magic” (23-7-1) early in the second round of Sunday’s main event in Abu Dhabi. The Brazilian rolled backwards as he tried to survive, but Sandhagen pounced and delivered ground and pound by the fence before referee Marc Goddard waved it off at 1:03.
Aljamain Sterling (19-3) is set to get the next shot at 135-pound champ Petr “No Mercy” Yan (15-1) of Russia. The “Funk Master” beat Sandhagen by rear-naked choke after 88 seconds at UFC 250 in June, but the 28-year-old American bounced back in fine style against the No 1-ranked former challenger Moraes.
“I want a No 1 contender fight,” Sandhagen said after the fight. “I think Sterling should get the shot against Yan, he performed perfectly against me, and then I want … TJ is coming back in January, Frankie is still available, so one of those guys and then the belt afterwards.”
Dillashaw is set to return from a two-year doping suspension that saw him stripped of his bantamweight title. Henry Cejudo (16-2) went on the beat Moraes for the vacant belt at UFC 238 in June 2019. But “Triple C” retired after successfully defending against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May, and Yan went on to win the vacant belt against former featherweight champ Jose Aldo.
Former UFC lightweight champ and featherweight challenger Edgar dropped down another division in August and beat Pedro Munhoz before calling for a top five opponent. It seems Sandhagen is willing to oblige.