CORY SANDHAGEN

Born in Aurora, Colorado, Cory Sandhagen represents the United States as a bantamweight competitor. He possesses a background in kickboxing, having secured a world title before entering professional mixed martial arts. Operating out of Forge Fight Club, he utilizes a switch stance and employs a mix of technical striking alongside high-level grappling, backed by a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Since joining the promotion in 2018, his career has featured frequent matchups against elite opposition in division title eliminators. Notable past performances include victories over prominent names such as Marlon Moraes, Frankie Edgar, and Deiveson Figueiredo.

Sandhagen enters this event holding an overall professional record of 18-7-0. His recent run includes a unanimous decision loss against Mario Bautista in July 2026 and a previous decision defeat to Merab Dvalishvili. Prior to those contests, he earned a technical knockout victory over Deiveson Figueiredo in May 2025. That win followed a unanimous decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in August 2024. Before that, he recorded a unanimous decision win against Rob Font in August 2023.