Podcast: UFC Fight Night: Vera v Sandhagen Preview and Predictions

The road to title contention goes through Texas as top-five bantamweights Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen battle it out in what promises to be an action-packed main event showdown at UFC San Antonio on Saturday night (Sunday morning SA time).

Vera (22-7-1) has been on a tear in his pursuit of a first title shot. His current four-fight win streak includes knockout wins over two former champions in Frankie Edgar and most recently Dominick Cruz, both of whom he put away with wicked head kicks.

Third-ranked “Chito”, who’s also the only man with a victory over No 1-ranked Sean O’Malley, has come into his own over the last three years, maturing into a well-oiled machine who’s as dangerous on the ground as he is on the feet with eight wins by submission and just as many by knockout.

Fifth-ranked Sandhagen (15-4 with seven knockouts) is a pure striker. Super explosive and unpredictable, “The Sandman” puts opponents to sleep in style. Look no further than his spinning wheel kick knockout of Marlon Moraes and devastating flying knee finish of Edgar as examples of his deadly dynamism.

Siphamandla Lindwa

Siphamandla Lindwa is a sports writer and a publisher for Bet Central at Bet.co.za. He obtained a B-Tech in Sports Management from Tshwane University of Technology. When not writing sports content, Sipha scouts talent and networks for his future Sports Management agency.