In the bout that took home Fight of the Night honors, Cory Sandhagen defeated Iuri Alcantara in a contest that was not short on drama. Following a successful UFC debut earlier in the year against Austin Arnett, Sandhagen got a major jump in competition level when he took on veteran Iuri Alcantara, and he passed the test with flying colors.
Early in the first round, Sandhagen attempted a flying armbar and was able to seemingly get the armbar fully secured. With Sandhagen’s arm bent awkwardly, he would refuse to submit, even as Alcantra adjusted the crank and continued to soften Sandhagen up with punches to the face. Miraculously, Sandhagen was able to eventually escape the armbar after being locked in it for what seemed like an eternity. Even more impressive, Sandhagen not only survived the early scare but likely stole the round with the ground and pound beating he was able to put on Alcantara following his escape to close out the opening frame.
This beating would only get worse in the following round, when Sandhagen once again found himself on top of Alcantara, raining down punches. Alcantara was turtled up and absorbing a never-ending barrage of punches, with a mystified Sandhagen gesturing to the referee, “Why am I still punching this man?” Eventually, the referee called a stop to the fight and was pulled from referee duties for the remainder of the evening.
Check out the finish to this showstealer below!
RT UFCONFOX: Cory Sandhagen just put on a show! pic.twitter.com/IPSIr1YEZl
— Susan Cingari MMA (@SusanCingari) August 26, 2018
Missed the action last night? Check out the full UFC Fight Night 135 results right here!
