From Kansas City last weekend to Iowa this week, it’s always great to see the UFC on the road and in front of packed stadiums!
Two perennial contenders in the Bantamweight division will headline a stacked card on Sunday (AEDT) when former champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Cory Sandhagen meet in the octagon.
Bo Nickal will attempt to continue his quick rise up the UFC Middleweight rankings when he takes on Reinier de Ridder in the co main event but there are plenty of quality fights, and opportunities to make some money, right throughout the card.
My thoughts and betting suggestions can be found below.
Cory Sandhagen vs Deiveson Figueiredo
While Cory Sandhagen fought in a title eliminator against Aljamain Sterling in 2020 and then an interim belt a year later, he has never held UFC gold.
The now 33 year old made his debut in the biggest promotion in the sport in January 2018 and has just four losses in that time.
Three of those four losses have been against former champions of the division and his last loss came in August of last year against Umar Nurmagomedov who lost a title fight in his next outing.
He will face another former champion in the shape of Deiveson Figueiredo on Sunday.
A former Flyweight champion, Figgy moved up to Bantamweight after his fourth title fight with Brandon Moreno didn’t go his way and he won his first three fights in his new division.
Like Sandhagen, he was on the cusp of a title fight but failed in his bid for a second belt when losing a unanimous decision to Petr Yan late last year.
This is a mouth watering contest for fight fans, not only because two high level athletes do battle in the octagon, but both are extremely well rounded.
They are quick on their feet, possess power in the hands and their grappling prowess should not be understated.
It’s a hard one to pick from a head to head perspective and while I do think Sandhagen has come up far too short my main bet will be on a finish.
½ Unit Deiveson Figueiredo To Win @ $4.20
2 Units Fight Not To Go The Distance
Reinier de Ridder vs Bo Nickal
I’m looking forward to this fight more than the main event if I’m being honest as two rising prospects in the Middleweight division clash.
Dutchmen Reinier de Ridder had a very successful career in One Championship before entering the UFC including winning both the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight title in one of the most brutal fighting promotions in the world.
He was chucked into the deep end when making his UFC debut against Gerald Meerschaert and passed the test with flying by submitting the extremely well credentialled grappler.
Another submission win against Kevin Holland in January has earned him another opportunity against a rising star in Bo Nickal.
There have not been many more credentialled wrestlers enter the UFC at such a young age than Nickal who is a three-time NCAA Division 1 gold medalist through his college career.
He failed to make the Olympic team but has transitioned into MMA incredibly well and remains undefeated in seven pro fights including four in the UFC.
Paul Craig is a very experienced grappler and while Nickal was able to win a unanimous decision over the Scotsman, de Ridder is a far better striker.
This should be closer to even money and therefore I’m siding with the outsider in betting and double One Championship champ.
1 Unit Reinier de Ridder To Win @ $3.40
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Daniel Rodriguez
This is one of the sneaky best main cards of the year so far and we have another absolute barnstormer here.
Santiago Ponzinibbio is no spring chicken at 38 years of age but he is involved in a boring scrap.
This will mark his 39th professional MMA fight and his 31st win should he be victorious.
Dan Rodriguez won a UFC contract through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019 and has had 12 fights for eight wins.
This includes victories over Mike Perry, Kevin Lee and Alex Morono and eight of his 18 pro wins have been via KO/TKO.
It’s no surprise that the punters are struggling to separate these two in head to head betting but I’m confident one of these dangerous athletes can get a finish.
2 Units Fight Does Not Go The Distance