Cory Sandhagen wants to get some of that “famous guy leverage” that fighters like Umar Nurmagomedov seem to carry around with them.
Last year, ‘Sandman’ was slated for a UFC Fight Night headliner with Nurmagomedov. The fight, while intriguing, made little sense considering Sandhagen was sitting firmly in the top five of the bantamweight division while Nurmagomdov only had four fights inside the Octagon and had barely even sniffed a top-15 opponent, let alone fought one.
As has been the case with many of his previously scheduled scraps, Umar Nurmagomedov withdrew, leaving the promotion scrambling for a replacement. Ultimately, Rob Font stepped in and fought Sandhagen, but the ‘Sandman’ can’t help, but feel a little salty about Nurmagomedov getting such a big opportunity despite doing so little under the UFC banner.
“The Umar one was a little bit of a tough one,” Sandhagen said on The MMA Hour. “I was playing ball for the UFC, giving him a shot when he’s only four fights into his career and the guy pulls out of more fights than he’s been in. That’s just the truth of the matter.
“When you’re talking like, ‘Hey, I make a lot of money for these fights, these fights are really important and he pulls out of a lot of fights,’ that’s a little bit of a tough sell for me — and also, he’s way, way down in the rankings. I’ve been in the top five for the last three or four years of my career, and Umar is just entering in and I’m on a three-fight win streak, so it was a tough sell, but I played ball with him. I’m not fighting him next. Good luck in his next one.”
Cory Sandhagen Frustrated by ‘Famous Guy Leverage’ in the UFC
The UFC has yet to announce Nurmagomedov’s next bout, but it definitely won’t be with Sandhagen who is ready to focus on making his way back to a bantamweight title opportunity.
Continuing his conversation with Helwani, ‘Sandman’ suggested that the illogical match-making pitting him against the Dagestani standout was likely due to “famous guy leverage.”
“I won’t beat around the bush, there’s famous guy leverage,” Sandhaged added. “I’m trying to acquire some famous guy leverage. I think maybe I should start hanging out with rappers and maybe making myself look less like a normal dude than I do already.
“Maybe that will be my 2024 rebrand. I’ll get some tattoos on my face, I’ll color [my hair] and I’ll start hanging out with some rappers. It’s just the nature of the sport.”
Cory Sandhagen talks about "trying to acquire some famous guy leverage" in 2024.
"Maybe I should start hanging out with some rappers… I'll get some tattoos on my face."
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Though his comments consisted of a blatant dig at the division’s reigning champion, Sean O’Malley, Umar Numragomedov’s “famous guy leverage” is likely linked to his last name. Umar just so happens to be the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer and retired undefeated lightweight world champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He also trains alongside the current 155-pound titleholder, Islam Makhachev.
Hoping to snatch some of that spotlight for himself in the new year, Cory Sandhagen is willing to play the game by increasing his presence on social media to help secure himself a bantamweight title fight in 2024.
“This is where sport and entertainment mix,” Sandhagen said. “A lot of people watch sports for the beauty of it and then a lot of people watch for the drama of it. It’s easier to understand drama than it is to understand beauty. So that’s just the nature of everything.
“[Umar] has famous guy leverage, good on him. I’m going to try to scoop up some of that famous leverage this year so that there’s no question, ‘Cory fights for the belt next.’ I’m not going to act crazy or do anything like that. I’ll still be myself, but that’s a piece of the social media stuff and all of the side games you’ve got to play inside the big adventure.”
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