Cory Sandhagen is hoping to score a five-round fight with rising contender Umar Nurmagomedov later this year.
Sitting in the No. 3 spot in the bantamweight rankings, ‘Sandman’ is likely one big win away from earning a shot at the division’s reigning champion, Sean O’Malley. Though no official announcements have been made, it looks as though Sandhagen will have to go through 10th-ranked contender Umar Nurmagomedov if he wants to score another crack at UFC gold.
Speaking with James Lynch in an exclusive interview with Fanatics View, Sandhagen spoke about his rumor clash with and his desire for it to be a five-round fight.
“That’s what I asked for. I feel like I’m a five-round fighter. I do better in five-round fights. The pace that I feel I could be able to push in a three-round, especially after doing five rounds for the last two or three years of my life could be enjoyable. I think it would be cool to push the pace that high.
“I feel like if this is a three-rounder, camp is gonna be a lot easier. It’s not really going to be, but maybe the level of getting beat up will be less because I don’t need to do seven or eight rounds when I’m sparring if I’m doing a three-round fight. That would kind of mess up the pace that I’d fight at anyways so.”
With the Dagestani struggling to go a full 15 minutes against short-notice opponent Bezkat Almakhan at the UFC Fight Night event on March 2, Sandhagen is confident that a five-round fight would undoubtedly favor him.
“He definitely was breathing hard. He definitely showed a vulnerability and that’s something you don’t want to do, but I also think that he fought at a pretty high pace.”
Cory Sandhagen discusses Umar's last performance. He says He would have probably fought Bekzat Almakhan the same way Umar did (considering's Bekzat's power/danger factor).#MMA pic.twitter.com/DVdTSbCO3X
— MECU999_BACKUP_BACKUP (@MECU999_BACKUP2) March 19, 2024
Cory Sandhagen is Not Keen on Fighting Umar Nurmagomedov in Enemy Territory
Both Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov have agreed to step inside the Octagon during this year’s International Fight Week event. However, with the UFC scheduled to make its debut in Riyadh on June 22, the promotion may want to put one of its biggest Muslim stars on the historic fight card.
Asked if he would be willing to meet Nurmagomedov in the Middle East, Sandhagen said:
“I don’t know that I should have to go to the other side of the world to fight. I’m giving him a shot. That’s what it feels like. I am the guy giving him the platform to show that he deserves to fight for the belt next and I don’t really love the idea of going halfway across the world so that he can have an advantage.”
Umar Nurmagomedov is undefeated in his mixed martial arts career, dispatching 17 straight opponents, his last five coming under the UFC banner. Sandhagen, on the other hand, is 10-3 in the UFC, 17-4 overall, and has won his last three fights against Song Yadong, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, and Rob Font.
Watch the full interview below:
