Highlights! Sandhagen Shuts Down Vera, Calls Out Merab

squared off earlier today (Sat. March 25, 2023) live on ESPN+ at UFC San Antonio from inside AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Sandhagen started the fight really well. He attacked the legs early and started opening up with combinations, while Vera was mostly content to jab and get his reads. With a couple minutes remaining, Sandhagen landed a trip takedown. He controlled the rest of the round from top position, landing good elbows and ground strikes.

“The Sandman” kept his momentum rolling into the second, blasting Vera with an early combination and then dumping him to the canvas with a takedown. Sandhagen advanced position and landed short shots, controlling most of the round. Even when Vera popped up, he wasn’t very urgent about trying to win back the round.

Vera woke up a bit in the third, and it proved to be a really competitive round. “Chito” landed a heavy 1-2 and some nice low kicks, his best connections yet. However, Sandhagen still threw more shots, and he landed some cracking blows of his own, including a nice uppercut and liver shot.

Unfortunately for Vera, his volume and landing percentage dropped back off in the fourth. Sandhagen moved well, sticking jabs and shifting directions often. Vera couldn’t get many punches to connect, and all the while, Sandhagen was poking him with straight punches and chopping low kicks.

Despite clearly being down on the cards, Vera wasn’t able to get much going in the fifth. He attempted a nice charge in the final 30 seconds, but even then, Sandhagen managed to crack him with a nice hook in the middle of it. It was likely his best round of the fight but still far from enough to rally.

Sandhagen’s hand was raised by split-decision, because the judges in Texas are unbelievably bad. Check out the full highlights below:

For complete UFC San Antonio: “Vera vs. Sandhagen” results and play-by-play, click HERE!