Preview: UFC Fight Night 210 ‘Sandhagen vs. Song’

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will transition back to the UFC Apex with UFC Fight Night 210 on Saturday in Las Vegas. In terms of stakes, it looks to be a one-fight show, though this time around, it takes the form of an excellent headliner between Cory Sandhagen and Yadong Song—two of the most exciting competitors in the organization’s deep bantamweight division. Beyond the main event, there are some surprisingly entertaining middleweight bouts on paper. Chidi Njoikuani and Gregory Rodrigues could make dents in the divisional rankings; Anthony Hernandez and Marc-Andre Barriault have both been tirelessly aggressive; and Joseph Pyfer’s promotional debut against Alen Amedovski should see two heavy hitters swing for the fences. Add in all-action featherweights Andre Fili and Bill Algeo, along with a striker-versus-grappler showdown between Tanner Boser and Rodrigo Nascimento, and this figures to be a solid slate of hand-to-hand combat.

Now to the UFC Fight Night 210 “Sandhagen vs. Song” preview:

Bantamweights

#4 BW | Cory Sandhagen (14-4, 7-3 UFC) vs. #10 BW | Yadong Song (19-6-1, 8-1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Sandhagen (-195), Song (+165)

Bantamweight might be the UFC’s most talented division, and Song looks ready to make a dent in the championship picture if things are clicking to the level that they appear. The UFC signed a batch of Chinese prospects upon its second effort to break into the country back in 2017, and Song separated himself as the clear standout on the male side. Just shy of his 20th birthday when he made his promotional debut, Song impressed with knockouts of Bharat Kandare and Felipe Arantes, along with a consistent performance against Vince Morales. However, it was Song’s stateside debut in 2019 that got his hype train fully rolling. Matched with Alejandro Perez, typically a neutralizing fighter, Song scored one of the most impressively brutal knockouts of the year in a shade over two minutes. From there, Song hit a comparatively rough patch. Cody Stamann’s steady wrestling was enough to earn a draw against Song, and his March 2021 loss to Kyler Phillips did raise some short-term concerns. Phillips was expected to be fodder for a Song showcase, but instead put in the best performance of his young career, consistently applying his speed and ability to strike from range to keep his opponent from building much momentum with his powerful but patient style. That figured to be a crucial point in Song’s career in terms of whether he would stagnate or evolve. Thankfully, it seems like he has taken the latter path. Wins over Casey Kenney and Julio Arce were consistent, with Song scoring a knockout in the latter, but his March win over Marlon Moraes looked to be a full turning of the corner. Admittedly, it was a quick knockout win over a clearly reduced version of Moraes in what turned out to be the Brazilian’s retirement fight, but Song showed off his most aggressive form to date against a still-dangerous opponent. With his power, athleticism and durability, that version of Song looks to be an absolute terror. Still just 24 years old, there is time for Song to get even better, but his time to contend might be now, particularly with a win against Sandhagen.

Sandhagen is in an interesting spot at the moment, clearly established as a top bantamweight but also suffering some losses that leave him without an obvious path back to title contention. “The Sandman” was completely unheralded upon hitting the UFC—enough so that his debut was a late addition during fight week mainly to make up for some scrapped bouts on the card—but quickly overachieved and made a name for himself. His 2018 win over Iuri Alcantara felt a bit like he was getting away with one—Alcantara clamped down on an armbar that would have finished nearly anyone else at one point—but within a year, Sandhagen was putting on consistent performances that got him wins over divisional stalwarts like John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao. It is still a bit shocking that current champion Aljamain Sterling was then able to take Sandhagen down and submit him within 90 seconds. However, Sandhagen quickly regained his hype and established himself as one of the most exciting fighters in a deep division, scoring a wheel-kick knockout of Moraes before blasting Frankie Edgar with a highlight-reel flying knee just 28 seconds into their fight. That knockout, which took place in February 2021, remains Sandhagen’s last win despite two strong performances since. Next came his main event loss to T.J. Dillashaw—a controversial split decision, as the judges favored the former champion’s pressure and control over Sandhagen’s volume offense. Despite the loss, a rash of injuries in the division left Sandhagen as the obvious best contender available in an interim title fight against Petr Yan, and despite an excellent showing from the Elevation Fight Team rep, he clearly found himself losing a war of attrition over the course of five excellent rounds. This marks Sandhagen’s return to action nearly a year later, and it is a crucial fight. With losses to Sterling, Dillashaw and Yan, he cannot afford to have another potential contender jump ahead of him in line.

This should be a war, and it will be interesting to see how each man approaches the match. For Song, aggression is the main concern, with the Moraes win serving as a promising step. Again, Phillips made Song look relatively static with his speed and movement, and there is a chance that Sandhagen can provide a bit of a variation on that theme. Phillips fought behind much more of an approach built around sticking and moving, while Sandhagen is mostly all stick. A Sandhagen win is unlikely to be much of a defensively clean performance. However, between the American’s size, speed and aggression, there is a tremendous risk that a more passive approach from Song leaves him on the losing end of the calculation, with Sandhagen’s volume making up the difference for his opponent’s more powerful individual shots. At the same time, that leaves Sandhagen in an interesting spot as he continues to balance his approach. While Sandhagen has the frame to snipe his opponents with some impressively creative and powerful single strikes, Song’s durability means the Colorado native will likely need to lean on that pressure and volume to take a brutal win. In doing so, Sandhagen often leaves plenty of defensive openings that could cost him. Wrestling does not figure to be a concern, but Song might be the hardest shot-for-shot hitter that the former title contender has faced in his career. This is basically a coinflip. Despite the knockout ability of both men, each of them has proven to be impressively durable. For Song to win, he will need to maintain his aggression enough to match Sandhagen’s pace and show enough cardio to do so over five rounds. Frankly, he has looked good enough recently that he is worth the flier. The pick is Song via decision.

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Njokuani vs. Rodrigues
Fili vs. Algeo
Pyfer vs. Amedovski
Boser vs. Nascimento
Hernandez vs. Barriault
The Prelims