CHITO VERA VS. CORY SANDHAGEN TO HEADLINE FEBRUARY FIGHT NIGHT EVENT

Timothy James

March 18, 2023

A contender’s bout between Marlon “Chito” Vera and Cory Sandhagen was officially announced by the UFC for their February 18th Fight Night card.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a banger. While fight fans have been waiting for bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling to announce his next opponent – either the return of Henry Cejudo or against #1 ranked Sean O’Malley – the UFC has put together one of the most exciting matchups at 135.

Chito Vera and Cory Sandhagen are two guys who like to throw down, with both being vicious knockout artists. While Chito has the raw power advantage, Sandhagen is a slick and creative striker. Fans can expect fireworks when these two confront each other for a 5-round main event.

Both guys represent the cream of the crop of the bantamweight division, with Chito currently riding a 4-fight win streak that includes 2 knockouts by kicks – both against MMA legends in Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz.

Meanwhile, Sandhagen is coming off a TKO victory against Song Yadong. Despite having lost his previous two bouts before that (against former champions Petr Yan and T.J. Dillashaw), Sanhagen has provided some memorable knockouts of his own – including a flying knee KO of Frankie Edgar and a spinning wheel kick TKO of Marlon Moraes.

Can Cory’s unpredictable and creative striking get the job done against Chito? Or will Vera’s granite chin and knockout power put Sanhagen’s lights out? Whatever happens, one thing is for sure – this is a fight fans will be looking forward to. Especially if you’re one of those fans who doesn’t like grappling…these guys are going to stand and bang, guaranteed.

The showdown is currently slated as the main event of UFC Fight Night 219 on February 18th, 2023, at the Apex Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The winner will be well positioned for title talks moving forward, whether that be against incumbent Aljamain Sterling or one of Henry Cejudo or Sean O’Malley.

The only question now is…who ya got?