Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo shared his analysis of the nearing fight between Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen.
Top-ranked bantamweight contender ‘Chito’ Vera is scheduled to take on Cory Sandhagen in the headlining bout of UFC Fight Night 219 on Feb. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. He will look to extend his four-fight win streak and get closer to the mix of title contention with a win over the ‘Sandman.’
Henry Cejudo reveals pick for Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen
In a recent YouTube video, Henry Cejudo shared his breakdown of the upcoming contest between ‘Chito’ Vera and Sandhagen.
“This is a great fight for the bantamweight division,” Cejudo said. “First of all, I’d like to start off with breaking down their strengths. Marlon Vera he switches southpaw but a lot of times when he’s had success, has been from the southpaw position, whether it’s him knocking people out with that leg kick or throwing things up the middle in the same way that he caught Frankie Edgar. ‘Chito’ Vera is pretty diverse in some ways but I don’t know if he knows how to mix his fighting quite yet.”
Cejudo backed Sandhagen to beat Vera
‘Triple C’ extended his support for Sandhagen to come out on top of the fight and revealed wrestling as the key factor.
“If he gets taken down by Sandhagen, he has the ability to be able to hit from the bottom and transition a lot of things from his back. Those are some of his greatest assets he does have but he’s going up against a guy like Cory Sandhagen; a guy with unpredictable striking, that throws jumping knees, likes to go to the body. The guy is getting better but there’s that missing piece he doesn’t have which is called wrestling. If you can’t outwrestle Sandhagen, you’re in trouble.”
“When it comes to the grappling aspect of them being top and bottom, they’re both pretty even. But if you can’t outwrestle Sandhagen, you’re in trouble. For ‘Chito’ Vera, I think he’s just a journeyman. If I had to bet my money somewhere, I have Cory Sandhagen by either stoppage or winning by unanimous decision.
“‘Chito’ Vera is a durable guy that can last for five rounds. He’s tough and that’s his greatest asset. I just don’t think Vera’s skillset and his will is good enough for a guy like Cory.”
Henry Cejudo has been linked to a comeback against reigning 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling but an official announcement is yet to come.
