UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs Sandhagen *The leans below will not count to my stats here in this thread. Follow or fade, it's up to you! 
LOST - Take
Stephanie Egger over Tracy Cortez (6:35p.m., Saturday, October 10th)
In the only female bout on this card, we have a preliminary matchup between Tracy Cortez (7-1) and Stephanie Egger (5-1). Let's start with Tracy Cortez; she is a tough fighter with decent all-around skill-sets, however she isn't a standout in any particular area. She has a high-pressure, aggressive style which allows her to be competitive and win fights regardless of her general size disadvantages for this division. Cortez will be facing off against short notice opponent, Stephanie Egger who will be making her UFC debut. Egger is a decorated Judo specialist who has competed at the highest level. From the limited tape we have been able to watch on Egger, she isn't as versatile as Cortez, but she is the bigger, stronger fighter who has the grappling ability to make things difficult. Judo hasn't had a ton of success in mixed martial arts as of late, but the bully style approach we expect Cortez to implement could really play into the powerful Judo style of Egger. Women's MMA is severely unpredictable at times, and while this could play out a million different ways, we believe Egger will be able to get this to the mat and if she is able to secure top-control, she can utilize her ground and pound and size advantages to put a beating on Cortez, while clearly winning rounds in the process. Egger is not getting the respect she deserves and that can often be attributed to the fact that she will be making her debut on the big stage. While we admit, we don't know what we are getting with Egger - this price may be grossly inaccurate and we will happily take the value on the dog. If we had more data, or tape we would feel more confident, and for that reason we will go lighter than usual.
LOST - Take
Omar Morales over Giga Chikadze (6:00p.m., Saturday, October 10th)
Next up we have a featherweight matchup between Giga Chikadze (10-2) and Omar Morales (10-0). This is such a great contest, and has 'fight of the night' potential. Chikadze came into the UFC with some hype and has not disappointed thus far with a 3-0 record. He is a highly technical kick-boxer who utilizes feints, switch stances and unique timing to set-up and land clean counter strikes. He will be put to the test as he faces off against undefeated Omar Morales. What is interesting about Morales is how he is still flying under-the-radar. He's 2-0 in the UFC and has a decent resume, and has looked outstanding - but it seems he is still not getting the respect or appreciation he deserves. He's a solid boxer and will possess the speed and power advantages in this fight. The difference here could come down to Morales' ability to take this to the ground. Having said that, this will probably play out on the feet, and at range. Nothing would surprise us in this one and some respected money is coming on on Giga - but we have to trust our process and we believe Omar has what it takes to edge this one out more times than not with his volume and high pressure approach.
WON - Take
Cory Sandhagen over Marlon Moraes (10:15p.m., Saturday, October 10th)
In the main-event of the evening, we have a Bantamweight title challenger matchup between Marlon Moraes (23-6) and Cory Sandhagen (12-2). Interesting fight here! Marlon Moraes has looked nothing short of outstanding since coming to the UFC. After losing his debut to Raphael Assuncao he managed to win 4-straight, knocking out both Aljamain Sterling and Jimmie Riveria. He also managed to avenge his prior loss to Assuncao. That earned him the opportunity to challenge Henry Cujudo for his title where he eventually fell short.. He started fairly well in that one but faded as the fight progressed, and Cejudo took advantage. The issue for Marlon is, and will always be, his cardio. There is no doubt he is supremely talented, has elite technical abilities and is extremely dangerous in all areas in the early going, but as the fight wears on he shows clear durability and conditioning issues. Cory Sandhagen on the other hand is totally different. He is more awkward and crafty in his approach. He's diverse in the way he attacks and uses his long frame well to control the pace and eventually outlast his opponents. Sandhagen also had quite the start in the UFC winning his first 5-fights, including common opponent, Raphael Assuncao, in a fight where he looked truly outstanding and put on a clinic! He then faced off against Aljamain Sterling in his last fight at UFC 250, but lost within the first 90 seconds via rear-naked choke. We don't want to read too much into that. Sterling started well, landed a beautiful take-down and was able to transition to the back perfectly. Aljo was on a different level that night. Sandhagen will now be looking to bounce back from his first loss in the UFC, and has the opportunity to do so against a legitimate title-contender. We believe we will see a highly motivated Sandhagen who will put on the best performance of his career. If Cory is able to utilize that 70-inch reach in the early going to keep this at distance in the early going and avoiding danger, the time will come where he can employ a higher pressure approach as Marlon starts to fade. We feel this fight is mispriced. Sandhagen has all the tools needed to win this, assuming he starts cautious. Once this fight reaches the 2nd and 3rd round, Cory will begin to open up and find ways to put an impressive beating on Moraes and once again put his name in the mix for the title shot.
