Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

The UFC on ESPN 43 headliner seemed all but certain to deliver on its promise of bantamweight action.

To his own benefit, Cory Sandhagen proved otherwise. Thanks to a well-rounded performance that saw him confound Marlon Vera for the better part of 25 minutes, “Sandman” maintained his footing in a competitive bantamweight division. While the final scorecards rendered a split decision in Sandhagen’s favor, the true outcome was more lopsided than that. Vera, who flashed scary power during a four-bout winning streak heading into UFC on ESPN 43, had no answers for Sandhagen’s movement, varied striking and timely takedowns. It was an effort that showed that the best may yet be on the horizon for the Elevation Fight Team product.

Elsewhere at UFC on ESPN 43, Holly Holm re-established herself as a bantamweight title contender with a dominant three-round verdict over Yana Santos in Saturday’s co-main event. It’s rarely pretty, but at 41 years old and with a new UFC contract in tow, “The Preacher’s Daughter” remains as tough an out as ever at 135 pounds. With a resume that includes victories over the likes of Raquel Pennington (twice), Irene Aldana and now Santos, don’t bet against Holm receiving another championship opportunity before all is said and done.

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