Cory Sandhagen is ready to play spoiler at UFC Abu Dhabi this summer (Sat., Aug. 3, 2024).
The bantamweight division is as good as it gets across the globe and one of the reasons why is Aurora, Colorado’s “Sandman.” A staple at 135 pounds in the UFC, Sandhagen is close to getting back in a title fight.
Before doing so, the 32-year-old contender will have to turn back the surging undefeated 17-0 Umar Nurmagomedov. The pair were supposed to fight last year in Nashville, Tennessee until Nurmagomedov was forced to withdraw with an injury. Rob Font filled in to suffer a unanimous decision loss against Sandhagen.
Sandhagen (17-4) will be Nurmagomedov’s biggest fight and toughest test yet. Despite the hype and betting odds against him, Sandhagen sees the advantages in his favor.
“I don’t really think of him as an undefeated guy,” Sandhagen told MMA Mania. “I think your record in the UFC is what really matters, and he’s definitely undefeated in the UFC as well, but he’s only got five fights in the UFC. Outside of the UFC, you’re not fighting the toughest competition in the world. Inside you are. 17 is a lot of wins, so he definitely has a lot of experience, but it’s a different ball game when you’re fighting in the UFC.
“There are certainly things you can pick out of his style. The other thing is that he hasn’t had the toughest competition in the world to bring out a lot of those mistakes. Not that he hasn’t fought tough guys, but yeah, it is a little tricky to see a mistake. I’m just kind of formulating a strategy around being able to beat him at his best without making any mistake.”
A win for either man will theoretically be enough to secure them a title shot. That’s the expectation, which means a collision with the winner of the anticipated next title fight, the champion Sean O’Malley vs. No. 1-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili.
Ideally, Sandhagen will see a win against Nurmagomedov and a successful O’Malley title defense, leading to a thrilling affair between the talented 135-pounders.
“The fans really, really want to see me and O’Malley fight,” Sandhagen said. “That’s something they’ve been asking for for a really long time. I’m gonna go out and do my part and win this fight. I want O’Malley to go out and do his part and win his fight. That way the championship fight can be one of the more highly anticipated MMA striking matches that so many of the fans are already really, really intrigued in. Just the fact that we can do it on the championship level and scale, I think would make just a huge fight.
“That’s who I’m gonna be rooting for, but I’m gonna go out and do my part, beat Umar and I hope that Sean goes out and does his part and beats Merab so the fans can get the fight they’ve been asking for for a really long time.”
