Cory Sandhagen has been eyeing the bantamweight championship belt for a long while now. Being the #4 bantamweight contender, we can expect him to get a title shot soon enough. But before that, ‘Sandman’ needs to go a bit higher in the rankings. Unfortunately, he lost his last bout against Umar Nurmagomedov, who in turn, lost his bout against Merab Dvalishvili. Despite that, Sandhagen seemed confident in his stance against Dvalishvili. He even put the former bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley, on his crosshairs.
In a conversation with MMA Junkie prior to his bout against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Iowa, Sandhagen revealed his thoughts on his performance against ‘Young Eagle’. He believed that it was a winnable fight. The only thing that he needed to do was fix a few things. On the other hand, he also stood up for Nurmagomedov against Dvalishvili. He seemed to think that ‘Young Eagle’ could have also won the bout at UFC 311. But where exactly was Sandhagen treading? Well, his aim was fixed on a fight against Dvalishvili and ‘Suga’.
Sandhagen said, “So, you take that into account and then you take into account that whether Merab or O’malley win, I’m the only guy that hasn’t fought Merab, kinda in the top five. And then O’Malley is someone that people have been begging to have me and him fight for a really long time. I mean, yeah, I think the way that I think that I can beat Figgy, I’m pretty sure in my head is going to be a performance that speaks very loudly to me getting a title shot next.”
Of course, this wasn’t the first time when Cory Sandhagen expressed his desire to fight Sean O’Malley. Like he said, the fighting community has been asking for a fight between the two for ages. However, there was a hurdle for Sandhagen. At UFC Fight Night 252 post-fight press conference, Dana White hinted at a rematch between ‘Suga’ and ‘The Machine’. But ‘Sandman’ had a different plan in his mind.
Cory Sandhagen’s previous callouts for Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili
Right after Merab Dvalishvili defeated ‘Suga’ at UFC 306, Sandhagen took to Instagram to reveal his thoughts about the rematch. He said, “Let’s be real, O’Malley has no business fighting Merab for an immediate rematch. He got beat up in the first fight. He’s going to get beat up in the second fight. No one wants to see that fight.” So who should O’Malley fight as per Sandhagen? No doubt, he wanted to be the one to go up against the former champion. He was even willing to give him enough time to prepare. He went on, “Just UFC, make the fight that the fans want to see, which is me and O’Malley.”
But things took a different turn after Dvalishvili managed to defeat Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311. Sandhagen revealed that he had what it takes to defeat ‘The Machine’. He believed that his fighting style was superior to that of Dvalishvili’s. And it was linked to ‘Sandman’s footwork. He claimed that he had some of the best footwork in the sport. Confident in his ability to create space between him and his opponent, Sandhagen believed that he was the bantamweight champion’s kryptonite.
But first, the #4 bantamweight prospect needs to defend his position against ‘Deus Da Guerra’ on May 3, 2025. If his performance impresses the UFC head honcho and the other big guns, we might get to witness a war that ‘Sandman’ has been craving for. Do you think Sandhagen should fight for the bantamweight title after defeating Figueiredo at UFC Fight Night 259? Can Sandhagen really defeat O’Malley and Dvalishvili? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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