A total of 13 bouts have been made official for the UFC Fight Night card taking place at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA on May 3. The main event is a five-round, 135-pound contest between Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo.
Both fighters look to return to winning ways. No. 4-ranked bantamweight contender Sandhagen (17-5) of Aurora, CO suffered a unanimous decision defeat against Umar Nurmagomedov last August. Former two-time flyweight champion and No. 5 Figueiredo (24-4-1) of Brazil dropped a unanimous decision against Petr Yan last November.
The co-main event is a 185-pound clash between Reinier De Ridder and Bo Nickal. No. 13-ranked middleweight contender De Ridder (19-2) of the Netherlands submitted Kevin Holland in the first round in January and secured his third straight victory. In his previous bout last November, unbeaten Nickal (7-0) of Rifle, CO scored a unanimous decision against Paul Craig.
Also confirmed for the event on Tuesday is a lightweight bout between San Diego, CA-based Jeremy Stephens (29-21, 1 NC) of Des Moines, IA and Mason Jones (11-2, 1 NC) of Wales. As well, Montel Jackson (15-2) of Milwaukee, WI and Daniel Marcos (17-0, 1 NC) of Peru square off at bantamweight.
Thomas Petersen (9-3), fighting out of Webster, MN faces Don’Tale Mayes (11-8, 1 NC) of Louisville, KY at heavyweight. Ryan Loder (8-1), fighting out of Sacramento, CA fights Azamat Bekoev (19-3) at middleweight.
Australia-based Junior Tafa (6-3) from New Zealand takes on England’s Tuco Tokkos (10-5) at light heavyweight. Marina Rodriguez (17-5-2) of Brazil and Gillian Robertson (15-8) of Canada battle it out at strawweight.
Former bantamweight champion and current No. 11 Miesha Tate (20-9) of Tacoma, WA goes up against Yana Santos (15-8, 1 NC). Santiago Ponzinibbio (31-8) of Argentina and Daniel Rodriguez (18-5) of Alhambra, CA go head-to-head at welterweight.
Trevor Peek (9-3, 1 NC) of Scottsboro, AL meets Jeong Yeong Lee (11-2) of Korea at featherweight. Another matchup at bantamweight pits Cameron Smotherman (12-4), fighting out of Houston, TX, against Serhiy Sidey (11-2) of Ukraine.
The current UFC Des Moines lineup is as follows:
- Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
- Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal
- Jeremy Stephens vs. Mason Jones
- Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos
- Thomas Petersen vs. Don’Tale Mayes
- Ryan Loder vs. Azamat Bekoev
- Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Gillian Robertson
- Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
- Trevor Peek vs. Lee Jeong-yeong
- Cameron Smotherman vs. Serhiy Sidey
- Marlon Vera vs. Mario Bautista