Bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo are expected to clash in the main event of the upcoming UFC Des Moines card on May 3, which marks the return of the promotion to Iowa for the first time in 25 years.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday. The fight was initially reported by Leonardo Guimarães on social media.
The fight serves as Sandhagen’s first appearance since dropping a decision to Umar Nurmagomedov this past August, which ended his three-fight win streak. Prior to that setback, Sandhagen had rattled off victories over Rob Font, Chito Vera and Song Yadong.
Now he’ll look to get back on track while facing off with Figueiredo, who also tasted defeat in his most recent appearance in the UFC when he fell to former bantamweight champion Petr Yan this past November.
Figueiredo had been on a tear at bantamweight prior to that fight with three wins in a row including victories over Vera and former champion Cody Garbrandt.
Also on the card, Bo Nickal makes his return to action in the co-main event as he faces former ONE Championship two-division champion Reinier de Ridder. Nickal remains undefeated as a professional since transitioning to MMA from wrestling while de Ridder has gone 2-0 with a pair of finishes since joining the UFC roster in 2024.
Jeremy Stephens is also returning to the UFC in a surprising addition as he fights Mason Jones in a lightweight fight on the card. Stephens is a native of Iowa so he’s going home for the card while also fighting in the UFC for the first time since 2021.
Stephens most recently made waves in BKFC where he scored a finish over Eddie Alvarez but now he’s going back to the UFC for his fight in Des Moines.
Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo is set to headline the UFC card in Des Moines as the organization returns to an old stomping ground for the promotion after Iowa served as a breeding ground for some of the top fighters in the world.
The last time the UFC landed there for an event was back in 2000 for UFC 26 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Kevin Randleman faced Pedro Rizzo in the main event.
