Sandhagen vs. Bautista II

Cory Sandhagen and Mario Bautista are set to meet again at UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (sports.yahoo.com) The bout is part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s annual International Fight Week card, and multiple outlets reported the booking on April 21. Sandhagen enters as the No. 4-ranked bantamweight, while Bautista is listed at No. 8. (sports.yahoo.com 1) (sports.yahoo.com 2) Their first fight happened on January 19, 2019, at UFC Fight Night in Brooklyn, the promotion’s first live event on ESPN. Sandhagen won that matchup by first-round armbar submission. (tapology.com) (mmafighting.com) The rematch lands in a different part of the division than the first meeting did. Sandhagen is a former title challenger with an 18-6 record, and Bautista has climbed to 17-3 after spending the past two years moving into the rankings. (ufcstats.com 1) (ufcstats.com 2) (espn.com) Sandhagen’s most recent win came on May 4, 2025, when he stopped Deiveson Figueiredo in the second round in the main event in Des Moines, Iowa. That result followed his August 3, 2024 decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi. (ufc.com) (sports.yahoo.com) (ufc.com) Bautista’s rise included a split-decision win over José Aldo at UFC 307 on October 5, 2024. The judges scored that fight 29-28, 29-28 for Bautista and 29-28 for Aldo. (ufc.com) (mmajunkie.usatoday.com) The matchup gives Sandhagen a chance to protect his place near the top of the 135-pound division on one of the promotion’s biggest weeks of the year. It gives Bautista a second shot at the opponent who beat him in his fourth Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance. (sports.yahoo.com) (tapology.com) If the fight stays on the July 11 card, it will bring a seven-year loop back to where this pairing started: Sandhagen trying to hold contender ground, and Bautista trying to prove the first result no longer fits the division. (sports.yahoo.com 1) (sports.yahoo.com 2)