UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs Dillashaw Predictions, Odds & Picks

• Former two-time UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw returns to action following a two-year suspension for performance-enhancing drugs and he will be welcomed back by one of the most dangerous bantamweights in the division today: Cory Sandhagen
• Women’s bantamweight contender Aspen Ladd hopes to win her second in a row since suffering her first professional loss in 2019. She takes on Macy Chiasson in the co-main event
• Another top women’s prospect, Maycee Barber, looks to get back into the win column Saturday night after suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in her career

UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs Dillashaw

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UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs Dillashaw – Picks & Predictions

Cory Sandhagen vs TJ Dillashaw – Bantamweight Division

Cory Sandhagen (-180)

Aspen Ladd vs Macy Chiasson – Women’s Bantamweight Division

Aspen Ladd (-200)

Kyler Phillips vs Raulian Paiva – Bantamweight Division

Kyler Phillips (-260)

Darren Elkins vs Darrick Minner – Featherweight Division

Darren Elkins (+140)

Miranda Maverick vs Maycee Barber – Women’s Flyweight Division

Maycee Barber (+115)

Mickey Gall vs Jordan Williams – Welterweight Division

Mickey Gall (+170)

How to Watch UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs Dillashaw

Cory Sandhagen vs TJ Dillashaw – Bantamweight Division

Cory “The Sandman” Sandhagen

Cory Sandhagen is no warm-up fight and not the type of fighter you’d want to face after two years away from the sport.

Sandhagen signed with the UFC in 2018 as a featherweight and won his debut over Austin Arnett via second-round TKO. He moved to the bantamweight division for his next fight against Iuri Alcantara- He won that fight by second-round TKO as well and hasn’t looked back since – choosing to stay in the bantamweight division.

Sandhagen went on to collect three more wins over Mario Bautista, John Lineker, and Rapahel Assuncao.

He was then put up against Aljamain Sterling in what was a bantamweight title eliminator fight at UFC 250. Sandhagen was caught early and submitted just 1.5 minutes into the first round. It marked his first loss in the UFC.

Sandhagen has since recovered and has appeared better than ever. Following the loss to Sterling, Sandhagen defeated former title challenger Marlon Moraes with an insane spinning kick, giving him the second-round TKO victory and performance of the night bonus. His most recent fight was much of the same. He last fought former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar this past February and knocked him out in spectacular fashion with a flying knee in the first round. He was, yet again, awarded with a performance bonus.

The former SCL featherweight champion has been fighting since 2015 and currently trains out of Colorado with both the Elevation Fight Team as well as with High Altitude Martial Arts. He holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Eliot Marshall.

Heading into this fight, he is ranked as the second-best bantamweight contender on the roster.

Sandhagen will have a significant five-inch height advantage as well as a three-inch reach advantage over TJ Dillashaw.

TJ Dillashaw

There is no doubt that TJ Dillasahw is a skilled fighter. He is an Ultimate Fighter finalist and has won UFC gold twice. But two years away from the sport is a long time for anyone.

After losing the TUF finale, Dillashaw went on to win his first four fights in a row for the UFC before dropping a split-decision to Raphael Assuncao. After bouncing back and defeating Mike Easton, Dillashaw was given a last-minute shot at the current bantamweight champion Renan Barao.

In what would be deemed the fight of the night and the upset of the year, Dillashaw defeated Barao via fifth-round TKO at UFC 173 in 2014. He defended the belt twice – once against Joe Soto and once in a rematch with Barao.

Dillashaw would then lose the title to Dominick Cruz via split-decision in 2016. He would go on to win two more fights before earning another shot at UFC gold; this time against the current champ Cody Garbrandt.

Dillashaw defeated Garbrandt by second-round TKO at UFC 217 in 2017 and subsequently rematched and beat Garbrandt again in 2018 (this time by first-round knockout).

His last fight was held in January 2019 when Dillashaw attempted to move down to the flyweight division to face then-champion Henry Cejudo in an attempt to become a ‘double champ’. Dillashaw made the weight cut to 125-pounds but suffered a TKO loss just 32 seconds into the first round.

After the fight, Dillashaw tested positive for the use of EPOs and was suspended by USADA for two years. This Saturday marks his return to the octagon.

Born in Colorado, Dillashaw trains under coaches Duane Ludwig, Mark Munoz, and Sam Calavitta. He spends his time training at the Training Lab as well as with the Huntington Beach Ultimate Training Center.

Dillashaw has been competing since 2010 and holds a black belt in Duane Ludwig muay thai and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He also boasts NCAA Division I wrestling credentials.

He is currently unranked due to the suspension but a win over Sandhagen would immediately put him back into the top-five of the bantamweight division.

As mentioned earlier, Dillashaw will be giving up height and reach to Sandhagen. He is also six years older than his opponent.

Aspen Ladd vs Macy Chiasson – Women’s Bantamweight Division

Aspen Ladd

Aspen Ladd was an undefeated 5-0 fighter with Invicta FC before signing on with the UFC in 2017. She made her debut against Lina Lansberg and won her first fight via second-round TKO.

She followed her debut performance with two more wins – a TKO of Tonya Evinger earning her a performance of the night bonus, and a decision win over Sijara Eubanks – a fight that was deemed the fight of the night.

Ladd was then given her biggest test: a fight against former featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie. Ladd would get caught just 16-seconds into the fight and would suffer her first professional loss.

However, she did bounce back in her most recent octagon appearance, defeating Yana Kunitskaya via third-round TKO in late 2019. She has not fought since as she suffered ACL and MCL injuries in her knee and has since been recovering.

Still only 26-years-old, the Californian trains with MMA GOLD gym. She has been competing professionally since 2015 and holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Ladd also holds an undefeated 8-0 record in kickboxing.

She is currently ranked as the third-best bantamweight in the division and the tenth-best pound-for-pound women’s fighter in the promotion.

However, she will be at significant disadvantages this Saturday in both heights and reach.

Macy Chiasson

Although three years older than her opponent, Macy Chiasson actually has less fighting experience than Aspen Ladd. With that said, she too has only one professional loss on her record.

Chiasson won the Ultimate Fighter reality show in 2018 and quickly won her first two UFC fights – both by TKO finish.

She then suffered a unanimous decision loss to Lina Lansberg in 2019.

Since that loss, Chaisson has fought twice more and has defeated both Shanna Young and Marion Reneau by unanimous decision, with the Reneau fight taking place earlier this year.

The New Orleans native trains out of her home state with Triumph Krav Maga and works, as well, with Fortis MMA and MidCity MMA.

She has been fighting since 2017 and is ranked as number nine in the UFC bantamweight division.

She will have a height advantage over Aspen Ladd of three inches. She will also have an impressive six-inch reach advantage over her opponent this Saturday.

Kyler Phillips vs Raulian Paiva – Bantamweight Division

Kyler “Matrix” Phillips

Appearing on the Contender Series as a 4-0 fighter in 2017, Kyler Phillips defeated James Gray but would fight twice more for other promotions before debuting for the UFC in 2020.

Phillips fought twice for the promotion in 2020, earning a fight-of-the-night decision win over Gabriel Silva in February and performance of the night TKO victory over Cameron Else.

Phillips most recently fought Song Yadong at UFC 259 this past March and defeated him via unanimous decision. It marked his third-straight UFC win and his fourth professional win in a row overall.

Fighting since 2016, Kyler Phillips currently trains with the MMA Lab out of Arizona. He is ranked just inside the top 15 as the 14th-best bantamweight in the division.

Although he will stand equal to his opponent this Saturday, he will have an a2.5-inch reach advantage.

Raulian Paiva

Raulian Paiva steps in on one month’s notice to fight Kyler Phillips this Saturday, replacing Raphael Assuncao who had to bow out of the contest due to a bicep injury in late June.

The Brazilian fighter has gone 2-2 under the UFC banner since joining the promotion in 2019.

Paiva dropped his first two UFC fights against Kai Kara France and Rogerio Bontorin. However, he bounced back after that with a knockout win over Mark De La Rosa last February and a unanimous decision win over Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC 251 last July.

However, Paiva did miss weight for his fight against Zhumagulov, whom he was competing against in the flyweight division.

Born in Brazil, Paiva splits his time training in his home country with the Ronildo Nobre Judo Club and with California’s Team Alpha Male.

He has been fighting since 2013 and is currently ranked at number-12 in the flyweight division.

Although he is a former NEC bantamweight champion, Raulian Paiva has not fought at bantamweight since 2017.

Darren Elkins vs Darrick Minner – Featherweight Division

Darren “The Damage” Elkins

Darren Elkins has been a man of streaks as of late.

From 2015 to 2018, Elkins strung together a six-fight winning streak that saw him defeat notable contenders such as Mirsad Bektic, Joseph Benavidez, and Michael Johnson.

However, following the win over Johnson, Elkins then found himself on the wrong side of a four-fight losing streak that saw him get bested by fighters such as Alexander Volkanovski and Ryan Hall.

Elkins most recently fought last November against Luiz Eduardo Garagorri. He would snap his four-fight skid with a third-round submission victory.

“The Damage”, now 37-years-old, trains out of Indiana with Duneland Vale Tudo and also spends time training with Team Alpha Male.

Competing since 2007, Elkins holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boasts NCAA division II wrestling credentials. He is tied with Max Holloway for the most fights in the UFC featherweight division (21).

Elkins will enter the cage Saturday owning a three-inch height and two-inch reach advantage over his opponent.

Darrick Minner

Following a loss on the Contender Series to Herbert Burns, Darrick Minner went on to win two fights in a row in the regional circuit before making his UFC debut.

He debuted in 2020 against Grant Dawson but was submitted in the second round.

However, he has since fought twice more for the promotion, winning both fights. Last September he defeated T.J. Laramie via first-round guillotine submission and, most recently, defeated Charlie Rosa this past February via unanimous decision.

Competing since 2012, the American fighter currently trains with Glory MMA and is a former DCS featherweight champion.

He is six years younger than his opponent.

Miranda Maverick vs Maycee Barber – Women’s Flyweight Division

Miranda “Fear The” Maverick

A former competitor for Invicta FC, Miranda Maverick has won back-to-back fights since joining the UFC and is riding a four-fight winning streak overall.

Maverick made her UFC debut last October, earning a first-round TKO win over Liana Jojua at UFC 254. She followed that performance up, most recently, with a unanimous decision victory over Gillian Robertson this past March at UFC 260.

Born in Missouri, Maverick has been competing since 2016 and is a former Invicta FC flyweight tournament winner.

She currently works with trainers Jake Chamberlain and Mackens Semerzier out of The House of Muay Thai and Semerzier BJJ.

She holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Maverick is currently ranked as the 13th-best women’s flyweight in the UFC.

Maycee “The Future” Barber

After a promising start to her MMA career, Maycee Barber has recently faced some adversity.

She appeared on the Contender Series as an undefeated 4-0 fighter, winning her fight on the show via TKO.

She debuted for the UFC in 2018 and won her first three fights in a row – all by TKO in the first or second rounds.

Last January, at UFC 246, Barber took on Roxanne Modaferri. Barber was a heavy favorite to win but hurt her knee badly during the fight. Modaferri would win via unanimous decision. It was the first loss of Barber’s career.

After recovering from her injuries, Barber returned to face Alexa Grasso in her most recent bout. The fight took place this past February at UFC 258. Unfortunately, Barber would find herself on the wrong side of a unanimous decision once again.

Born in Colorado, Maycee Barber trains with the Roufusport gym under former UFC fighter Ben Askren.

Fighting since 2017, she holds a second-degree black belt in karate and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under brothers Rener and Ryron Gracie.

Barber is ranked 14th in the women’s flyweight division and she will stand two inches taller than her opponent this Saturday.

Mickey Gall vs Jordan Williams – Welterweight Division

Mickey Gall

Mickey Gall, mostly known for defeating former pro-wrestler CM Punk, has had an up and down UFC career this far.

After the win over Punk, Gall defeated top prospect Sage Northcutt, which legitimized him as a real fighter following the CM Punk spectacle.

However, since that win, Gall has traded wins and losses. He lost a decision to Randy Brown then bounced back with a submission win over George Sullivan. He was then demolished by Diego Sanchez at UFC 235 before turning this around once again and defeating Salim Touahri.

His most recent bout took place against Mike Perry last June. The fight drew attention as Perry had only his girlfriend in his corner for the fight and yet he still defeated Gall via unanimous decision.

Gall was set to fight Miguel Baeza last September but had to pull out due to injury. This will be his first fight of 2021.

The American-born fighter trains out of New Jersey with both the Gracie New Jersey Academy as well as with the Miller Brothers MMA team.

Fighting since 2015, Gall holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under David Adiv and a blue band in muay thai under Kaensak Sor Ploenjit. He is currently unranked in the welterweight division.

Gall will enter the octagon Saturday with a one-inch height advantage.

Jordan “Bomaye” Williams

Jordan Williams would be most familiar to fans of the Contender Series as he appeared on the show not once, not twice, but thrice!

He fought to a no-contest in 2018 on the show. He appeared again in 2019, losing a unanimous decision. He fought on the Contender Series once more in 2020, earning a first-round TKO win over Gregory Rodrigues.

He made his official UFC debut last October against Nassourdine Imavov. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Born in Wisconsin, Williams trains out of California with the Nor-Cal Fighting Alliance team.

He will have a reach advantage of 2.5-inches over Gall.