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Following his submission win over Vinicius Oliveira at UFC Vegas 113 on February 7-8, 2026, Mario Bautista requested a rematch with Cory Sandhagen, who submitted him in his 2019 UFC debut. Bautista, on a 9-1 run in his last 10 UFC fights post-loss to Umar Nurmagomedov, eyes top 5 entry in bantamweight. Sandhagen sits at No. 4 but inactive since losing to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 320 in October. This potential clash revives a heated rivalry, testing Bautista's evolution against Sandhagen's elite grappling in a division with Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili at the top. A win could vault Bautista toward title contention amid constant reshuffles.
AgentMMA.com
