Marlon Vera vs Cory Sandhagen Prediction: No Room for Knockout

Another UFC event will take place in the United States on the night of March 26th. The main event will bring together top lightweight division representatives Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen.

This is a genuinely versatile fighter with a base in Thai boxing and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is terrific in wrestling but prefers to fight in the standing if his opponent allows him to. But if something goes wrong, Vera moves his opponent down and tries to solve issues there.

He's been at the top for a long time, collecting bonuses regularly, but he hasn't gotten anywhere near a title shot yet. A win over Sandhagen would give him that opportunity, especially now that Marlon is on a streak of four straight wins (two of them by direct knockouts). In his previous fight, he spectacularly defeated Dominick Cruz.

Corey Sandhagen is a brutal puncher who has finally started to work hard on his wrestling and defense against takedowns lately. He's generally doing well, but he still can't be said to be fighting at the top level. But in the standing, he fights incredibly. His off-the-field technique and active footwork stump everyone against him in the octagon.

Corey fought for the belt before but lost to Petr Yan (probably the best fight of Yan's career). In his last fight, however, Sandahagen dismantled Song Yadong and made the doctor stop the bout.

If I had to bet my money somewhere, I have Cory Sandhagen by either stoppage or winning by unanimous decision. ‘Chito’ Vera is a durable guy that can last for five rounds. He’s tough, and that’s his greatest asset – the fact that he does have that will. The only way you beat Cory Sandhagen is if you wrestle him or you out-will him. I just don’t think Vera’s skill set and his will is good enough for a guy like Cory.

Henry Cejudo

It's not all clear-cut here. Both fighters are very patient, hardy, and of temper. They have fought to the very end more than once, and neither of them has ever been knocked out. All the more, there won't be any outright fighting here.