Cory Sandhagen, although mild-mannered and soft-spoken, has often displayed his goofy side on the internet. And as the date for his fight against Deiveson Figueiredo inches closer, his goofiness has witnessed a hike via his social media profile. And today, we’ll begin our MMA News Roundup journey with the bantamweight contender’s peculiar online behavior. 

We’ll then move to the summit where soccer and mixed martial arts meet, with some details about Patrice Evra’s PFL debut. And finally, we’ll take a look at a new and viral Jiu-Jitsu tournament. So without any further ado, let’s get right into it. 

Cory Sandhagen prepares some unconventional weapons for Deiveson Figueiredo before UFC Des Moines

The excitement around the upcoming bout between Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines has spiked with the fight coming close, but also particularly with one of Sandhagen’s social media posts. In the final episode of his series named ‘Cory’s Stupid Vlogs’, he showed his goofy and irreverent side.

‘The Sandman’ said, “With everything that you know, this week is gonna entail obviously practicing my face-offs, which is really important. Another thing that I do is, you know, water bottles are usually the weapon of choice at, you know, any fighters’ gathering of any types.”

The video begins with the #4 bantamweight contender practicing his staredowns in front of a mirror in the most hilarious way possible. And it ended with him throwing a water bottle at a dummy across the road before slapping it to the ground. 

The stage is set for this epic bantamweight showdown, and the winner could likely find themselves as front runners for a No.1 title-contender spot. For now, let’s move on to our next story which is about Paul Pogba and Patrice Evra’s friendship.

Paul Pogba supports Patrice Evra for his MMA debut

The former Manchester United FC’s defender bid farewell to professional soccer in 2019 and picked up martial arts to keep his sporting journey going. Evra is currently set to debut at the Professional Fighters League in Paris on 23rd May 2025. To make things more exciting, French soccer star Paul Pogba joined Evra in one of the latter’s training sessions. It was indeed a journey back in time to 2009 when Pogba and Evra’s friendship began to bloom. Will his former teammate’s support bear any fruits in his professional MMA debut?

We’ll have to wait and watch the story unfold to know about Evra’s fight. And for our final story for the day, we bring you exciting news from the intersecting worlds of Hollywood pop-culture and professional grappling. 

John Wick gives rise to a new sport

Who could have known that a blockbuster cinematic excellence could find its way to sanctioned fighting? Well, the Keanu Reeves starrer John Wick franchise has indeed borrowed its style and legendary action sequences from the world of professional fighting. And now, in honor of a lot of moves seen in the film (courtesy of the Machado brothers) there’s a new Jiu-Jitsu competition in town—John Wick Invitational. Herein, the contenders wear suits and compete in Jiu-Jitsu matches. It’s quite similar to Gi Jiu-Jitsu, except you have a tie to strangle your opponents now.

But the real fun begins when the fight doesn’t by the 4th minute. In the final minute, a coin toss determines whether the fighters get a prop gun or a prop knife to finish the bout. The only thing separating the fights from those in the movie at this point is the fact that the weapons are props. Sounds absurd? It will, to many, and you’d be surprised to know that JWI has already completed its second outing about 2 weeks ago. 

Do you think Sandhagen’s video series showcases his confidence in beating Deiveson Figueiredo? Will Pogba follow Evra’s footsteps and enter the MMA realm? What are your thoughts on the John Wick Invitational? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.