A marquee matchup between bantamweight contenders Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen is currently in the works for the UFC’s return to San Diego on May 16.
Multiple sources confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Monday following an initial report from TSN. As of now, the fight is tentatively agreed upon for the card in San Diego but every UFC event remains influx due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that has already forced the promotion to cancel three recent shows.
Previously, Sandhagen revealed that he had been offered a fight against Dominick Cruz but he was awaiting word on whether or not the former bantamweight champion would accept.
It appears Cruz decided against fighting on May 16 but Sandhagen remained hopeful that he would book a different opponent instead after previously missing out on a fight against Frankie Edgar when he pulled out of their bout to step into a main event showdown against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung last December.
Sandhagen is undefeated in his UFC career with a perfect 5-0 record including wins over John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao.
Meanwhile, Sterling will look to build on a four-fight win streak as he moves closer and closer to title contention as well. The New York native looked better than ever in his last outing as he earned a unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz this past June.
Now after recovering from wrist surgery, Sterling is anxious to get back in action in hopes of fighting for the bantamweight title in 2020.
Assuming Sandhagen vs. Sterling is finalized for the event in San Diego, the bantamweights would join a card currently headlined by former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier taking on Dan Hooker.
