Preview: UFC Fight Night 150 ‘Jacare vs. Hermansson’

Bantamweights

John Lineker (31-8, -150) vs. Cory Sandhagen (10-1, +130): It is good to have Lineker back. The Brazilian whirlwind of violence has reliably been one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, but since a 2016 loss to T.J. Dillashaw halted his title aspirations, injuries have left “Hands of Stone” surprisingly inactive. On the plus side, after the rare flat performance in a win over Marlon Vera, Lineker’s 2018 victory over Brian Kelleher showed he still has it, as he was back to his hard-charging form. Lineker’s style almost necessitates that you meet him on his terms, as he constantly charges forward throwing punches at a high volume, while his granite chin leaves his opponents unable to scare him off. Basically, it takes an elite opponent like Dillashaw or Ali Bagautinov to pick apart or outwrestle Lineker; or given those two names, maybe it just takes a lot of EPO.

Lineker’s latest challenge is Dillashaw teammate Cory Sandhagen, who had a breakout 2018 campaign. Sandhagen made his UFC debut on an eight-day turnaround and immediately got to work with a one-sided win over Austin Arnett and a big performance against Iuri Alcantara, which saw him come back from a deep armbar to pour on the violence in the second round. Sandhagen’s last fight against Mario Bautista was a full showcase of his capabilities. He does not compare to Dillashaw athletically, but Sandhagen does a reasonable approximation of the former champ’s movement-heavy striking game. Plus, Sandhagen got the win over Bautista with a chain of submissions that flowed beautifully. Even with a loss here, Sandhagen figures to be a prospect to watch, both in terms of potential and excitement.

Like most Lineker fights -- and most Sandhagen fights -- this should be a fun one, but this feels like a second straight tailor-made Lineker win. Sandhagen may have some more dangerous weapons than Kelleher did, but much like Kelleher, Sandhagen shows a willingness to hunt offense and go along with the flow of the fight; and like Kelleher, Sandhagen should find out that letting Lineker dictate the terms of the fight just gets you punched a whole lot. The pick is Lineker via second-round stoppage.

Next Fight » Roberts vs. Gifford