Vera vs Sandhagen

Who won Vera vs Sandhagen?

Cory Sandhagen beat Marlon Vera by split decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC Fight Night San Antonio, on Saturday 25th March 2023 at AT&T Center in San Antonio.

The scorecards were announced as 48-47, 50-45, 49-46 in favor of the winner Cory Sandhagen.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

Vera vs Sandhagen stats

Marlon Vera stepped into the octagon with a record of 20 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, 8 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 8 by submission.

Cory Sandhagen made his way to the cage with a record of 15 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 7 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

This was Marlon Vera's 24th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014. Cory Sandhagen marked his 14th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2018.

Marlon Vera's UFC record stood at 15-9-0, while Cory Sandhagen's came in at 10-4-0.

The stats suggested Sandhagen had a slight advantage in power over Vera, with a 47% knock out percentage over Vera's 40%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Vera had an advantage over Sandhagen, with a 40% submission rate over Sandhagen's 20%.

Marlon Vera was the younger man by 1 year, at 31 years old.

Sandhagen had a height advantage of 3 inches over Vera. Despite this, both fighters had a equal reach.

Vera was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2011, 3 years and 11 months earlier than Sandhagen, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 27 more professional rounds, 87 to Sandhagen's 60.

Vera vs Sandhagen form

Vera had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Cruz on 13th August 2022 by knockout in the 4th round at Pechanga Arena, San Diego, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Rob Font at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Vera on 30th April 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 268 on 6th November 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Before that, he was victorious against Davey Grant at UFC Vegas 29 on 19th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

He had lost to Jose Aldo at UFC Vegas 17 on 19th December 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

Vera's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 9 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 18 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.6 rounds on average.

Sandhagen's last 3 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 5 months and 7 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 9 months and 24 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 6 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Vera vs Sandhagen?

Marlon Vera was a 13/10 (+160) underdog going into the contest, while Cory Sandhagen made his way into the ring at 8/13 (-190) with oddsmakers.