Top-ranked bantamweights will vie for title contention in a UFC main event.
Marlon Moraes (23-6-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Cory Sandhagen (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) have verbally agreed to square off in a five-round headliner on Oct. 10. No location or name designation has been announced for the event yet.
MMA Junkie verified the booking with multiple people close to the situation following an initial report from Combate. The people request anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
American Top Team’s Moraes is coming off a split decision win over Jose Aldo this past December at UFC 245. Prior to that, he failed to capture the then-vacant bantamweight title in a third-round stoppage loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 238.
Sandhagen suffered his first UFC blemish in June, when he was submitted by Aljamain Sterling at UFC 250. The loss snapped his seven-fight winning streak, which included victories over John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao.
Newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan is projected to face Sterling next and the winner of Moraes and Sandhagen could be named the next No. 1 contender.
Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen in the works to headline UFC's Oct. 10 event