DES MOINES, IOWA – MAY 02: (L-R) Opponents Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo of Brazil face off … More
The UFC is at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, for tonight’s UFC Fight Night card. In the main event of the UFC Des Moines fight card, former interim UFC bantamweight title challenger Cory Sandhagen faces ex-UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in a 135-pound matchup. In the high-stakes middleweight co-main event, Reiner de Ridder meets Bo Nickal in a middleweight contest that will leave one fighter with their first loss under the UFC banner. UFC Des Moines results, reactions, and more will be updated live throughout tonight’s full fight card.
The main card for UFC Des Moines airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
UFC Des Moines Main Event: Cory Sandhagen Vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
DES MOINES, IOWA – MAY 02: Cory Sandhagen poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in at … More
Cory Sandhagen (17-5) joined the UFC in 2018 with a 7-1 record. He went unbeaten in his first five fights with the promotion. That run, culminating with decision wins over John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao, earned the then 28-year-old the No. 4 ranking in the UFC’s 135 weight class and a matchup against the No. 2 ranked Aljamain Sterling.
The slick Sterling submitted Sandhagen in the first round, earning himself a shot at the UFC bantamweight title, a belt he won in his next outing. As for Sandhagen, the submission setback did not hurt him in the rankings, as he remained at No. 4.
Following his first UFC loss, the UFC booked Sandhagen against the No. 1 ranked Marlon Moraes. Sandhagen won that fight and a “Performance of the Night” bonus with a highlight-reel spinning wheel kick KO.
That stunning stoppage earned Sandhagen the No. 2 ranking in the division and a fight against former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Sandhagen dispatched Edgar with a vicious flying knee 28 seconds into that bout. He again earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his effort.
A decision loss to former UFC bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw followed Sandhagen’s win over Edgar. He then faced ex-135-pound champ Petr Yan for the interim UFC bantamweight belt in October 2021. The scrap was “Fight of the Night” on the UFC 267 pay-per-view card, but Yan picked up the victory and the belt via unanimous decision.
Following that setback, Sandhagen, who is now 33, was on a three-fight winning streak with victories over Song Yadong, Marlon “Chito” Vera, and Rob Font. Sandhagen saw that run come to a halt in August 2024 when he dropped a decisionto Umar Nurmagomedov in a bantamweight title eliminator.
Sandhagen is the No. 4 fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings.
Deiveson Figueiredo (24-4-1) is a former two-time UFC flyweight champion. The 36-year-old first claimed UFC gold in July 2020 when he scored a submission over Joseph Benavidez. He defended the title twice, beating Alex Perez and fighting Brandon Moreno to a draw. Figueiredo surrendered the belt to Moreno in a June 2021 rematch, losing by submission.
Figueiredo regained the 125-pound title in January 2020 when he defeated Moreno via decision. The two met for a fourth time in January 2023. Moreno regained the belt in that matchup, winning via doctor stoppage TKO.
The loss to Moreno was Figueiredo’s final fight at 125 pounds. The 36-year-old moved up to bantamweight in December 2023, defeating Rob Font by decision in that scrap. After that, Figueiredo picked up two more wins at 135, submitting former UFC champ Cody Garbrandt and beating recent UFC title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera by decision in August.
Figueiredo’s winning ways ended in November when he lost to former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan via decision.
Figueiredo enters UFC Des Moines as the No. 5 fighter in the UFC’s bantamweight division.
UFC Des Moines Co-Main Event: Reiner de Ridder Vs. Bo Nickal
DES MOINES, IOWA – MAY 02: (L-R) Opponents Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands and Bo Nickal face … More
Reinier de Ridder (19-2) joined the UFC in 2024. De Ridder was a two-division champion with ONE, claiming titles in the middleweight and light heavyweight weight classes.
A talented grappler with 11 career submission victories before inking his UFC deal, De Ridder is 2-0 with the UFC, picking up submission wins over Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland.
De Ridder’s victory over Holland put him in the official UFC middleweight rankings, where he sits in the No. 13 spot.
I wrote the following about De Ridder after his win over Holland, “Reinier de Ridder looked excellent in his second UFC fight. The former two-division ONE champion won in his UFC debut over Gerald Meerschaert in November, but he looked a bit reserved and willing to accept positions as they came. He did not resemble that fighter at all at UFC 311, dominating Kevin Holland.
“De Ridder scored a takedown early in the first round and then used his striking and grappling skills to control Holland, opening a cut on Holland before securing a rear-naked choke submission.”
Bo Nickal (7-0) joined the UFC in 2023 after one fight on an iKON FC card and two bouts on the Dana White Contender Series. Nickal won those contests by stoppage in the first round (two submissions, one KO). None of the matchups went past 62 seconds of the first round.
Since his debut with the promotion in March 2023, Nickal has compiled a 4-0 UFC record with two submissions, one knockout and one decision. In his most recent outing, Nickal went the three-round distance with Paul Craig on the pay-per-view portion of the UFC 309 fight card.
Known for his wrestling, Nickal was a three-time NCAA champion under Cael Sanderson at Penn State, did not attempt a single takedown against Craig. Instead, he focused on developing his striking game in that matchup.
I wrote the following after that win:
Bo Nickal went 15 minutes for the first time in his MMA career against Paul Craig at UFC 309. While Nickal looked decent against Craig, the fight showed that he needs some more seasoning before he’s ready to compete against the elite of the UFC’s middleweight division.
Nickal needs to work on his striking and distance management. Craig, who is not an elite striker, did a decent job in keeping Nickal at distance, but Nickal was able to land with power, by throwing some somewhat sloppy strikes. Nickal came into UFC 309 with a lot of hype behind him. I don’t think that hype disappears after UFC 309, but Nickal’s performance showed he has a lot of work to do.
Nickal did not break into the UFC middleweight rankings with his victory over Craig.
UFC Des Moines Results
UFC Tonight: UFC Des Moines Main Card Results
Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos
Cameron Smotherman vs. Serhiy Sidey
Jeremy Stephens vs. Mason Jones
UFC Tonight: UFC Des Moines Preliminary Card Results
Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate
Ryan Loder vs. Azamat Bekoev
Marina Rodriguez vs. Gillian Robertson
Gaston Bolaños vs. Quang Le
Thomas Petersen vs. Don’Tale Mayes
Juliana Miller defeats Ivana Petrović via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
UFC Des Moines Results: Video Highlights
UFC Des Moines Results: Fight Night Bonuses
UFC Des Moines Results: Official Scorecards
UFC Des Moines results, reactions and more will be updated live throughout tonight’s fight card.