Preview: UFC on ABC 7 ‘Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov’

Bantamweights

#6 BW | Deiveson Figueiredo (23-3-1, 12-3-1 UFC) vs. #4 BW | Marlon Vera (23-9-1, 15-8 UFC)

ODDS: Figueiredo (-155), Vera (+130)

The bantamweight division is getting an increasingly deep bench of contenders, and Figueiredo could add his name to that list with an impressive win here. Henry Cejudo was the man that saved the flyweight division, but Figueiredo helped bring it to relevancy with his 2020 title win and subsequent four-fight rivalry with Brandon Moreno. “Deus da Guerra” had a rare level of explosiveness and power for a 125-pound fighter, and while he could be a bit patient in his approach at times, he also proved more than willing to match an opponent’s fast pace and lay on a beating. He won the vacant title with a one-round beatdown of Joseph Benavidez, then made his first defense by tapping out Alex Perez in under two minutes. That led to his feud with Moreno, which saw the two trade the title for two years and change until Figueiredo lost the last fight. By the end of things, the two were making adjustments upon adjustments upon adjustments to the point that the two seemed firmly inside each other’s heads. With that chapter over, Figueiredo used the opportunity to stop cutting weight and move up to 135 pounds, and thus far, it has been a fairly smooth transition. The Brazilian has moved back to his previous style, fighting at a slow pace by default and landing some big counters, but Figueiredo’s power has certainly translated up a division; and he has been more willing to pivot to his wrestling, which was particularly on display in an April win over Cody Garbrandt, which saw Figueiredo salt things away via submission after a slow first round. With no reason to waste time, Figueiredo’s now firmly in the mix with top bantamweights, so it’s not a shock to see him draw a recent title challenger in Vera for his next fight.

Vera is one of the most impressive prospect development stories of the last few years, though he might be hitting the point where his game needs some major adjustments. Ecuador’s entry into the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” back in 2014, Vera stood out more as a personality than a fighter. With expectations low for the cast, in general, Vera seemed destined to be a footnote, particularly after he lost his first post-show fight to castmate Marco Beltran. However, the UFC surprisingly kept Vera around, and thus began a slow march up the ranks. At first, Vera was a fairly one-dimensional fighter—a grappling threat who could get easily frustrated when things went wrong—but within a few fights, he developed a solid enough striking game to keep opponents honest. Once Vera rounded things out, his next challenge was overcoming his tendency for slow starts, and after initially trying to force things through aggression, he eventually landed on an approach that verged on being too calm. At some point, Vera realized he was sickeningly durable, so as he started getting higher-profile fights, he eventually just decided to wait things out and focus on big moments of offense. Somehow, it kept working. Knockout wins over Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz came through late comebacks, and an impressive decision win over Rob Font saw Vera win rounds by rocking Font a few times, even as the Team Sityodtong product threw out a ton of offense. The rubber figured to hit the road at some point, and that point came in Vera’s fight against Cory Sandhagen in March 2023. Sandhagen was able to consistently stay ahead of Vera and make the Ecuadorian look both inactive and ineffective. A controversial decision over Pedro Munhoz got Vera back in the win column, and despite coming off two of his worst performances in recent memory, that was enough to get “Chito” a title shot. He previously had a win over newly crowned champ Sean O’Malley, and O’Malley wanted the opportunity to avenge his only loss. Avenge it he did, as Vera once again let another opponent outpace him and never forced his way into the fight. This pairing could be a bit tedious in practice, even if it’s a solid bit of matchmaking. Figueiredo’s durable enough that a Vera knockout win would be a shock, and the Brazilian’s counter-focused style could make for a staring match against an opponent who’s also focused on big opportunities at a slow pace. Figueiredo seems the more willing of the two to get after it, as necessary, so he gets the nod, particularly since his pivot towards more wrestling could pay dividends against Vera’s takedown defense. It also wouldn’t be a shock if this wound up as a split decision after a frustrating performance from both men. The pick is Figueiredo via decision.

Jump To »
Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov
Magomedov vs. Oleksiejczuk
Figueiredo vs. Vera
Chiesa vs. Ferguson
Dern vs. Godinez
Alvarez vs. Brener
The Prelims