A bantamweight title eliminator between Frankie Edgar and Cory Sandhagen is close to being finalized.
That’s according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani who reported Friday that the pair have verbally agreed to a fight set to take place on February 6.
“Cory Sandhagen vs. Frankie Edgar is being finalized for Feb. 6, per multiple sources. Verbally agreed.”
Cory Sandhagen vs. Frankie Edgar is being finalized for Feb. 6, per multiple sources. Verbally agreed.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 18, 2020
There is no location or venue for that date as of yet, but it’s expected to be a Fight Night event with the UFC 258 pay-per-view event taking place a week later on February 13.
Winner Of Edgar vs. Sandhagen To Get Next Title Shot?
It’s highly likely that the winner of such a bout — when official — will get the next crack at the bantamweight title.
Sandhagen is coming off an emphatic knockout win over top-ranked contender Marlon Moraes in October and has won six of his last seven outings in the UFC.
Following his win over Moraes, he called for a fight with either TJ Dillashaw or Edgar and while it appeared the former was what made the most sense, the UFC seemingly had other ideas.
Edgar, meanwhile, enjoyed a successful bantamweight debut when he outpointed Pedro Munhoz to a split decision verdict back in August. An additional win over Sandhagen should give the former lightweight champion his shot at becoming a two-division champion.
Sandhagen was originally supposed to welcome Edgar to the bantamweight division in January earlier this year. However, Edgar decided to fight The Korean Zombie on short notice in December and the fight was eventually pulled.
Just over a year later, they will finally lock horns.
