Cory Sandhagen turned in a masterful performance, and Texas judging almost ruined it.
The bantamweight main event of UFC on ESPN 43 at AT&T Center certainly didn’t lack action, as Sandhagen (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) was too elusive and varied in his attacks for Vera (20-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC). Somehow, the judges were split in their decision after five rounds, as scores of 50-45 and 49-46 were read in Sandhagen’s favor, with a dissenting judge turning in a card of 48-47 for Vera.
Sandhagen was active early, offering combinations of punches to the body and head. Vera remained patient as he studied his opponent’s movement, but the forward pressure was heavy. Midway through the round, Sandhagen took the fight to the mat nicely with a trip takedown, and began looking for ground-and-pound strikes. Vera remained defensively sound, and snuck in an elbow of his own from the bottom that opened a cut on Sandhagen. Despite the blood, Sandhagen continued to land heavy shots until the round ended.
