Cory Sandhagen recently opened up about his status in the UFC bantamweight division and joked that perhaps he needs to make some changes in order to gain leverage for a title shot.
‘Sandman’ shared his thoughts on the bantamweight division and fighters like Umar Nurmagomedov being linked to opponents in the top 5 despite not being ranked in the top 10.
During his appearance on today’s episode of The MMA Hour, the 31-year-old mentioned that he believes that the promotion is offering ‘Young Eagle’ opportunities because of his relation to Khabib Nurmagomedov and joked about changing his appearance and circle of friends. He said:
“There’s famous guy leverage [with Umar Nurmagomedov]. I’m trying to acquire some famous guy leverage. I think I should start hanging out with rappers and you know, maybe making myself look less like a normal dude than what I do already. Maybe that’ll be my 2024 rebrand. Get some tattoos on my face, I’ll color myself, and I’ll start hanging out with some rappers…It’s just the nature of the sport.”
Sandhagen is currently recovering from an injury that he sustained ahead of his unanimous decision win over Rob Font this past August. It was his third consecutive win, and he inserted his name in the title picture at 135 pounds. Whether he is awarded a title shot when he returns remains to be seen.
Cory Sandhagen believes he should receive a UFC bantamweight title shot next
Cory Sandhagen has consistently been among the top bantamweights in the UFC for quite some time and believes that he has done enough to deserve a title shot in his next fight.
During the aforementioned appearance, Sandhagen shared his thoughts on the landscape in the bantamweight division and noted that his win over title challenger Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera should be taken into consideration for a title shot. He said:
“I still see a lot of argument for me fighting for the belt. I think I beat ‘Chito’ less than 365 days ago. Me and [Sean] O’Malley is definitely one of the most exciting fights that you can certainly make in the UFC…So, I have a lot of hope, man. I feel like the fans really wanna watch me and O’Malley fight if he comes out with the win.”