Top-Five Bantamweights Deiveson Figueiredo, Cory Sandhagen Look To Bounce Back In May 3rd UFC Headliner

A pair of prominent bantamweights will aim to get back on track later this year in Iowa.

Top-five ranked 135-pound talents Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo will face off in the main event of UFC’s May 3rd “Fight Night,” per Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. The matchup will headline the promotion’s first-ever card at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.

While the two bantamweights are among some of the division’s highest-valued fighters, they are both coming off an unsuccessful night at the office.

Sandhagen came up short last year against undefeated Russian contender Umar Nurmagomedov, being on the losing side of a quite dominant five-round decision outcome. To illustrate the high stakes of the bout, it’s worth noting that the fight was Nurmagomedov’s final appearance before challenging bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili last month.

Before that defeat, Sandhagen had built himself back up with a trio of solid wins since 2022. He went a total of nearly 14 rounds in less than 12 months, finishing high-ranked contender Song Yadong, getting past title challenger Marlon Vera, and then overcoming Rob Font on scorecards.

Still ranked fourth in the division, 32-year-old Sandhagen is not far off from a fight against Dvalishvili, who he notably has never crossed paths with through 14 UFC appearances.

However, stopping a potential new climb up the standings could be Figueiredo, who intends to do the same thing.

The two-time UFC Flyweight Champion suffered his first loss since moving up to the bantamweight limit late last year, not getting the scorecard nod in a competitive five-round fight against ex-divisional king Petr Yan.

The Brazilian vet had an impressive three-fight run in the division before then, submitting Cody Garbrandt and—similar to Sandhagen’s recent track record—also beating Font and Vera.

The bantamweight clash will headline UFC’s first Iowa card in over two decades. The promotion’s last trip to the state dates back to UFC 26 in 2000 when Kevin Randleman beat Pedro Rizzo at the Five Seasons Events Center in Cedar Rapids.