UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song Picks, Predictions, Odds
Former UFC Bantamweight Championship title contender Cory Sandhagen will meet Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song this weekend. There shouldn’t be the same chaos on the card we saw last week with the UFC shuffling the opponents in the top two fights less than 48 hours before fight time, so let’s dive into the fights.
UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song will be held on Saturday, September 17, 2022, at UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada. This entire card will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ with the prelims starting at 4 p.m. ET and the main event kicking off at 7 p.m. ET.
Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong Picks
The 2021 calendar year was rough for Cory Sandhagen. He dropped his last two fights, losing a controversial split decision against T.J. Dillashaw over the summer and falling in a title fight against Petr Yan in October. Sandhagen was a late replacement for an injured Aljamain Sterling in the title fight against Yan though, and he did earn a Fight of the Night bonus for making Yan work to get a decision win.
Sandhagen is the type of fighter that wants to finish a fight. He earned Performance of the Night bonuses for knocking out Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar in his last two wins, and three of the four losses he has sustained in his career have been by decision. Sandhagen knows that it’s tougher for judges to score fights in lower weight classes, so he will be looking to end his fight against Song Yadong inside the distance.
This is the biggest fight yet for 24-year-old Song Yadong. He is 8-1-1 since joining the UFC in late 2017 with his only loss coming against Kyler Phillips. Song has victories to his credit over Marlon Vera and Marlon Moraes, and he has also shown an ability to finish with only half his fights going the distance. That makes ‘Under’ 4.5 Rounds in the main event a very nice wager at +odds.
To Win Fight: Cory Sandhagen to Win by Finish (+300)
Total Rounds: Under 4.5 (+125)
Chidi Njokuani vs. Gregory Rodrigues Picks
Chidi Njokuani has earned himself two Performance of the Night bonuses since joining the UFC last year. Njokuani knocked out Marc-Andre Barriault in 16 seconds in his debut, and he knocked out Dusko Todorovic at the end of the first round back in May. That has created a buzz around the newcomer, and he will face another recent addition in Gregory Rodrigues this week.
This will be Rodrigues’ fifth fight since joining the UFC in June 2021. He is 3-1 and has claimed two bonuses himself for his knockouts of Jun Yong Park and Julian Marquez. Rodrigues’ only defeat in the UFC was a split decision loss to Armen Petrosyan, so he might also be looking for a finish in the co-main event.
To Win Fight: Chidi Njokuani (-125)
Total Rounds: Under 2.5 (-175)
Tanner Boser vs. Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira Picks
After entering the Octagon seven times in a 20-month span, we haven’t seen Tanner Boser fight since June 2021. Boser is 4-3 in the UFC, and his last fight was a second-round knockout of Ovince Saint Preux. He was supposed to fight last December and again in April, but travel issues scuttled the first bout, and an injury knocked him out of the fight earlier this year.
Rodrigo Nascimento is even more of a mystery. Nascimento dominated the Brazilian scene and won six straight fights to earn a spot on Dana White’s Contender Series. However, he has only entered the Octagon four times since October 2017, and the victory he secured in his last fight was overturned after Nascimento tested positive for ritalinic acid.
Since this is a heavyweight bout against two opponents eager to prove themselves after long layoffs, they are both likely to be swinging for the fences. That makes the ‘Under’ a great pick in this fight, but it’s tougher to declare a fight winner.
To Win Fight: Rodrigo Nascimento (+150)
Total Rounds: Under 2.5 (-200)
