Running it back!
No. 4-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight contender, Cory Sandhagen, is set to face No. 8-seeded Mario Bautista in a rematch seven years in the making at UFC 329 during International Fight Week (Sat., July 11, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Advertisement
MagicMMA was first to report the news.
The two first met back in 2019 at UFC Brooklyn, where Sandhagen secured a first round armbar victory. But, both fighters have evolved significantly since that night.
Sandhagen (18-6) may not have landed the showdown with Sean O’Malley he was hoping for, but instead gets a familiar face (and one of O’Malley’s former training partners).
The 34-year-old is coming off a failed bid for undisputed gold, losing to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 320 back in Oct. 2025. Prior to that, he scored a technical knockout win over former Flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo (watch highlights).
Advertisement
Sandhagen is 4-2 in his last six fights and remains firmly in the 135-pound title picture.
Bautista (17-3), meanwhile, gets the fight he asked for.
The 32-year-old is coming off his first UFC main event, smoking Vinicius Oliveira in the second round at UFC Vegas 113 earlier this year (watch highlights). Before that, he saw an eight-fight win streak snapped by a competitive decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov — a run that included wins over Jose Aldo, Patchy Mix and Ricky Simon.
Now, Bautista gets a chance to avenge the first loss of his career.
Here is what UFC 329 looks like so far:
-
Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway (rumored)
-
Leon Edwards vs. Daniel Rodriguez
-
Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista
-
Cesar Almeida vs. Damian Pinas
