UFC fans vote for an Apex event to change venue in landslide numbers
UFC fans seemingly have an issue with the venue of a potential bantamweight barnburner. In a Twitter poll, fans almost unanimously agreed that the fight in question needs to unfold in front of a crowd rather than an empty Apex.
Marlon Vera is scheduled to face Cory Sandhagen in a main-event clash at the Apex on February 18. Meanwhile, Raquel Pennington vs. Irene Aldana 2 is likely to headline UFC San Antonio, which goes down on March 25.
While the UFC Apex event will play out in an empty arena, the San Antonio event will have a crowd in attendance. Dutch reporter Marcel Dorff recently hosted a Twitter poll to decide which fight is more deserving of the crowd as per fans. Vera vs. Sandhagen leads the poll by landslide numbers.
So Chito vs. Sandhagen is in the APEX. And Pennington vs. Aldana 2 is rumored for the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Both main events. One in an actual venue with crowd and one in the APEX where you can hear a pin drop.
What fight would you prefer to have in San Antonio?! @ufc
Dorff also clarified that no disrespect was intended on his part towards Pennington and Aldana:
"Listen. No disrespect to the girls but to me the pick is pretty obvious. Just want your opinion. (It's Chito vs. Cory imo ofc)"
Listen. No disrespect to the girls but to me the pick is pretty obvious. Just want your opinion. (It's Chito vs. Cory imo ofc)
Fans have previously expressed their grouse with Vera vs. Sandhagen headlining a UFC Apex event with no crowd.
Cory Sandhagen happy about the smaller cage for his upcoming UFC Apex event
The Apex features a 25-foot diameter octagon as opposed to the standard 30-foot diameter version. It will be Cory Sandhagen's fifth outing inside a smaller octagon when he takes on Marlon Vera in the main-event booking on February 18.
While 'Sandman' initially had some trouble adjusting to a smaller octagon, he now welcomes the higher-paced fights that it necessitates. The 30-year-old recently told MMA Junkie:
“I appreciate the challenge. I like the challenge of having to fight more. When there’s a smaller cage, there isn’t a lot of room to move around, which I’m OK with now, which was something that was challenging in the beginning, but now I’ve enjoyed having that challenge. I think that just being in a smaller cage and me having to fight a little bit more close and give them more opportunities has just made me a lot better of a fighter.”
Catch Sandhagen's comments below: