Cory Sandhagen confident he’ll get a title shot after he beat Deiveson Figueiredo “impressively” at UFC Des Moines

Cory Sandhagen believes he can secure the next title shot with an impressive win against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines.

Sandhagen is set to headline the card as he looks to get back into the win column after a decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov back in August. Heading into the bout against Figueiredo, Sandhagen is a sizeable favorite. With that, he expects to get his hand raised and do so impressively.

“I’m better than ever right now, I’ve never felt like I have the actual skills to become a champion more than I do right now. Saturday night, I’m super pumped to put on the best performance of my life,” Sandhagen said at media day. “Win this fight, win it impressively and ask for my title shot. Hopefully land a little bit of luck where there will be no one else. And be the guy who fights for the belt next.”

Of course, Sean O’Malley is set to rematch Merab Dvalishvili in June for the title. Although many think Petr Yan would be next in line, Sandhagen thinks if he has an impressive performance like he thinks he will, the UFC will have no choice but to give him a title shot.

Cory Sandhagen knows Deiveson Figueiredo is dangerous ahead of UFC Des Moines

Cory Sandhagen enters UFC Des Moines as a -535 favorite and is confident he will get his hand raised.

However, Sandhagen knows Figueiredo is a dangerous opponent and someone he can’t take lightly. But, he also knows he’s dangerous and a scary opponent for people.

“He fights a little bit different at ’35. He wrestles more, he doesn’t really have the ability to be a power bully. Those are the main changes, but he’s still a dangerous guy. He’s still taking tough fights. I take pride in being the guy in the division that people are like ‘Well what do I get out of beating that guy?’ Well, you don’t get that much. It makes me scary to fight at times because I’m not a star.”

Sandhagen is currently ranked fourth at bantamweight and is 17-5 as a pro.