UFC contender Cory Sandhagen knocked out veteran Frankie Edgar with a brutal flying knee at UFC Vegas 18, only to have rival Petr Yan remind him of his defeat to his next opponent after saying he wanted to fight the Russian champ.
Bantamweight brawler Sandhagen entered his clash with former lightweight champion Edgar on the back of a memorable knockout of Marlon Moraes with a spinning-heel-kick in October, and he required only 28 seconds to detonate another devastating finish on his 39-year-old adversary.
Edgar crumpled to the canvas unconscious after feeling the full force of Sandhagen's knee on his chin, positioning "The Sandman" strongly for a potential title shot at former foe Aljamain Sterling or Yan, the man he will meet at UFC 259 on March 6.
“The next time we fight, I’m going to hurt Aljamain,” Sandhagen declared after delivering a win that earned him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus alongside Russian heavyweight Alexander Volkov, who beat Alistair Overeem.
The Sandman Cory Sandhagen secures a statement win over a former UFC champion Frankie Edgar with a flying knee knockout! 🦵 💥#UFCVegas18pic.twitter.com/pNmZmtka8f
Jesus! That was clean as hell! One of the things I really had to be careful of because of Sandhagen height. Two masterful performances back to back.#UFCVegas18#TheWeeklyScraps!
"[That was] one of the things I really had to be careful of because of Sandhagen's height. Two masterful performances back to back.”
Yan was more guarded. "Good win for Cory," he observed. "But hard to forget what my next opponent did to him. We’ll see what happens next."
"No Mercy" was more emphatic about what Edgar's next step should be after the former featherweight challenger lost his second fight at bantamweight, suffering a third defeat in four bouts.
"Edgar is legend," acknowledged Yan, before telling him: "Time to move on."
