The event at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines was nothing short of spectacular, as fans witnessed the rise of new title contenders. In the co-main event, Reinier de Ridder secured a TKO victory over Bo Nickal, boosting his position in the rankings. Meanwhile, in the main event, Cory Sandhagen stopped Deiveson Figueiredo with a TKO at 4:08 of the second round. Along with the win, Sandhagen also took home a solid payday.
According to Sportysalaries, ‘The Sandman’ currently has a UFC contract valued between $250,000 and $400,000 per fight. Since he headlined the main event, his payout reached up to $500,000. On the other hand, his opponent, Deiveson Figueiredo, reportedly has a $400,000 contract with the UFC, and being in the main event boosted his purse to $500,000 as well.
Reinier de Ridder earned $102,000, while Santiago Ponzinibbio secured a guaranteed $300,000. Several fighters also earned an extra $50,000 bonus for standout performances. Performance of the Night honors went to Quang Le, who submitted Gaston Bolanos with a rear-naked choke in the first round at 1:54.
Azamat Bekoev, who defeated Ryan Loder via first-round TKO at 2:44; Reinier de Ridder, who stopped Bo Nickal with strikes in round two at 1:53; and Cory Sandhagen, who earned his bonus after defeating Deiveson Figueiredo by TKO due to injury in the second round at 4:08.
Merab Dvalishvili Responds to Cory Sandhagen’s TKO Victory
Dvalishvili responded to Cory Sandhagen’s UFC Des Moines callout after Sandhagen’s TKO win over Deiveson Figueiredo. In a video on X, Dvalishvili congratulated him, saying, “Good job Cory, let’s go!” Sandhagen called out both Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley and offered to be the backup for their UFC 316 title rematch.
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CONGRATULATIONS @corysandhagenx 🦾 pic.twitter.com/WkGyWdY5FK
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) May 4, 2025
Fans now regard Dvalishvili as the greatest bantamweight champion of all time after he defeated top contenders like Sean O’Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov. ‘The Machine’ will face O’Malley once again in a rematch next month. Following Cory Sandhagen’s dominant victory, he now stands as the frontrunner for the next bantamweight title shot.
Also Read: Merab Dvalishvili Thinks He Can Win Against A Gorilla And Here’s Why
