Cory Sandhagen will try to improve to 2-0 against Mario Bautista at UFC 329 | Getty/UFCCory Sandhagen and Mario Bautista are going to run it back this summer. The bantamweight contenders will square off in a rematch at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from from MagicM on social media.
Sandhagen defeated Bautista via first-round submission in their initial meeting at UFC Fight Night 143 on Jan. 19, 2019.Part 2, Higher Stakes Sandhagen is coming off a failed championship bid at UFC 320, where he dropped a five-round verdict to former title holder Merab Dvalishvili this past October. The 35-year-old “Sandman” has earned victories against the likes of Deiveson Figueiredo, Rob Font, Marlon Vera, Yadong Song, Frankie Edgar and Marlon Moraes during his promotional tenure. Bautista is 11-2 in the Octagon since falling to Sandhagen in his UFC debut.
After having an eight-bout winning streak snapped by Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 321, the 32-year-old MMA Lab product returned to the win column on Feb. 7, when he scored a second-round submission of Vinicius Oliveira in the UFC Fight Night 266 main event. UFC 329 does not currently have a main event, though the card is rumored to feature Conor McGregor’s first fight since June 2021. Additionally, heavyweight uber-prospect Gable Steveson is expected to make his Octagon debut against an as yet to be named opponent.