Mario Bautista and Cory Sandhagen meet on the UFC 329 main card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Last event’s results: 5-1
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UFC main cards, 2026: 69-37-1
Mario Bautista vs. Cory Sandhagen UFC 329 preview
Bautista (17-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) enters his second fight of the year after a second-round submission win of Vinicius Oliveira in February. It was Bautista’s first UFC main event, and a successful rebound from a decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in October.
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Sandhagen (18-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) looks to get back on track after a title challenge loss to then-champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 320. To earn his shot, Sandhagen stopped Deiveson Figueiredo in the second round last May.
Mario Bautista vs. Cory Sandhagen UFC 329 expert pick, prediction
If there’s anything that the UFC matchmakers love more than middleweights, it’s rematches.
In this case, we’re at least getting a somewhat relevant rematch given that both Cory Sandhagen and Mario Bautista are top-ranked contenders.
I think that you can make the argument that Bautista has made more meaningful improvements in recent years, but I still don’t know if it’s enough to avenge his first UFC loss.
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One part of me could totally see Bautista grapple and out-position Sandhagen on the floor by abusing his propensity to give back exposure.
However, between Sandhagen’s scrambling improvements to his cross-training with Trevor Wittman and company in Colorado, and I suspect that the “Sandman” will have answers for most of what Bautista can throw his way.
I’m still not sure if I’m a fan of this more cerebral-trending Sandhagen, but I’ll officially side with him here to edge out a decision win on the scorecards.
Mario Bautista vs. Cory Sandhagen UFC 329 odds
The oddsmakers and the public favor the former title challenger, listing Sandhagen -142 and Bautista +116 via FanDuel.
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Mario Bautista vs. Cory Sandhagen UFC 329 start time, how to watch
Bautista and Sandhagen are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 10:10 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Mario Bautista vs. Cory Sandhagen prediction, pick for UFC 329
