“I would gladly die in there,” is what Cory Sandhagen had said recently at the UFC Des Moines weigh-ins. Thankfully, it did not have to come to that because Sandhagen managed to bag a thunderous win against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines within Round 2 with a technical KO! He was in amazing form and managed to keep ‘God of War’ on his toes from the start of the first round itself. In the second-round, he put him in a leg entanglement that set Figueiredo’s path to the oncoming gruesome knee injury.
Sandhagen put on an absolute striking clinic on former 2-time flyweight champion and dominated the fight from the very start. ‘The Sandman’ finished the game in roughly 9 minutes, with clean striking that forced ‘Deus da Guerra’ to take multiple shots at ‘The Sandman’. While the fight did go to the ground, Sandhagen remained composed and managed to land significantly with Figueiredo on his back. After the powerful performance, he announced his desire to be the backup for Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O’Malley at UFC 316 to Michael Bisping in the Octagon.
However, he did not forget to thank his fans and praise the former champ Figueiredo through his Instagram profile. ‘The Sandman’ posted a heartfelt note and wrote, “Ayyy let’s gooo! Flawless against the biggest puncher in the division – who else has faced him and can say that? Blessed, man.
The post continued, “Figgy’s a legend. It was an honor to fight him. It went my way, and it hasn’t always in the past. It makes these wins that much sweeter. In a parallel universe, Figgy pops my knee. I’ve learned to have a special understanding of how many things are out of our control in this sport. It makes everything feel like a blessing, for real. The wins, the losses, the air – it’s all so special.”
“Gonna keep doing my best. I’m just a dude trying to accomplish something that a young kid, Cory, had the dream of doing – world champion. We got closer to that tonight. So, Hell yeah . I appreciate you fan,s more than you think. I hope to do you guys proud and inspire you to be yourself in a world that tries to tell you it’s not ok. Peace. Love you guys.”, was all that the Colorado native wrote.
Given how dominant a performance Cory Sandhagen put up against Deiveson Figueiredo, he definitely put the rest of the division on blast. And him announcing his bid to step in as a replacement for the UFC 316 headliner, you could be sure that the champ was watching closely. And watch the fight he did, as he responded to Sandhagen. Let’s see what he said.
Merab Dvalishvili replied to Cory Sandhagen’s callout
After the fight ended, ‘The Machine’ did not waste time and issued a response to ‘The Sandman’s’ callout. “Congratulations,” Merab Dvalishvili posted on X. “Good job, Cory. Let’s go. Congratulations, my friend. Great job.” With 4 wins in his last 5 fights, the bantamweight star seems to be closer to his title shot goals now more than ever.
He added his plans to speak to the UFC CEO and said, “I haven’t talked to him [Dana White], Me and my agency, are going to talk to him, see what’s kind of next,” Sandhagen stated in the post-fight presser. He is one of the few bantamweights who have not faced either ‘Sugar’ or Dvalishvili, and this is his chance to change that.
Sandhagen even declared inside the cage that he was in his best form and had the most lethal fight arsenal at the moment. ‘The Sandman’ is clearly prepared to fight the best at this point in his career. It remains to be seen who wins at UFC 316. Will the bossman listen to Sandhagen’s requests? Tell us in the comments below.
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