Sandhagen reveals suspected hamstring tear cost him in UFC 329 loss to Bautista

Cory Sandhagen has disclosed that he likely fought through a torn hamstring for the final two rounds of his unanimous decision loss to Mario Bautista at UFC 329 in Las Vegas, after a first-round kneebar hyperextended his left leg and left him severely limited.

Bautista (18-3) caught Sandhagen late in the opening round, wrenching the leg in a submission attempt that Sandhagen survived but could not walk away from unscathed. “The Sandman” told his corner immediately that his leg was compromised, yet somehow out-landed his opponent in the second round despite visibly restricted movement. Bautista then dropped Sandhagen in the third and accumulated enough control time to take the fight on all three judges’ scorecards.

Posting on Instagram after the event, Sandhagen (18-7) was candid about both the injury and the defeat. “Frickin bummer man. Losing in fighting is the most embarrassing thing ever. Sucks,” he wrote. “Pretty sure the kneebar tore my hamstring in the first (getting MRI this week). It kept locking out weird if I did certain things. So that kind of messed up my game plan. Congrats to Mario. He was well prepared. 1st was close but he won it with that knee bar. 2nd, I won (surprisingly cause leg was jacked). 3rd, I wanted to have the same round as before but got dropped. Gotta fight near perfect to win at the top. Something I need to get better at.”

The 34-year-old is now awaiting MRI results to confirm the full extent of the damage. The defeat marks his second consecutive loss, following a failed bantamweight title challenge against Merab Dvalishvili last October.

For Bautista, the win extends a remarkable recent run. Since 2022, the only blemish on his record across 11 fights is a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov, and he has now strung together back-to-back victories to firmly re-establish himself among the division’s elite.