- Cory Sandhagen wants either Marlon Vera or Merab Dvalishvili as his next opponent and hopefully on Christmas day
- The two quickly agreed to fight “Sandman”
No. 4 bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen turned out to be too much to handle for Yadong Song. The fight was stopped after four rounds due to a gruesome cut on Song’s eyebrow courtesy of a devastating elbow from Sandhagen. The American was then declared the winner via doctor’s stoppage.
The doctor stops the fight – @CorySandhagen takes the W. #UFCVegas60 pic.twitter.com/mrrdIBVKxs
— UFC (@ufc) September 18, 2022
After his victory, “Sandman” set his sights on Marlon Vera and Merab Dvalishvili as he feels a win over either of the two could make his case for a title shot stronger.
A Christmas day present
Speaking to reporters on his post-fight press conference, Sandhagen called out Vera and Dvalishvili, suggesting that “one of them” could be his opponent on a Christmas day event.
“I think as a martial artist, I try not to have many opinions about anything,” Sandhagen said. “I live in a way where I just more or less try to go with the flow and that life give me opportunities, and I take them. Chito and Merab are the obvious names. Both of them pose very different challenges, two completely opposite fighters almost. I don’t really care man. Give me one of them for Christmas.”
Chito and The Machine are down
As expected, it did not take long for Vera to respond to Sandhagen’s bold callout.
“If he wants it, he can get it,” Vera told UFC’s social media team. “I’m not shying away from any fight. I’m a fighter, I’ll fight anybody, I want to be a world champion. If I want to get there and get the belt, I don’t run away from no one. If he wants it, he can get it — or, I don’t know, whatever the f*** the UFC wants. I’m ready to go right now.”
“It was a fun fight,” Vera said of UFC Vegas 60’s main event. “I’m impressed by anybody — that’s how I push myself. Everybody in the UFC is a hard fight. I’m a hard worker. Anybody can win at this level, so like Mac Miller says, I don’t f****** trip, I’m ready to go.”
"If he wants it, he can get it."@ChitoVeraUFC responds to @CorySandhagen's call out 👀 #UFCVegas60 pic.twitter.com/1j7h4luDeg
— UFC (@ufc) September 18, 2022
Dvalishvili, on the other hand, feels the same way too.
“My answer is yes of course,” Dvalishvili tweeted. “Let’s go.”
My answer is yes of course. Let’s go 🦾 https://t.co/tA6mLlrPEl
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) September 18, 2022
Sandhagen has already been tried and tested, having shared the octagon with the best fighters in his division, including the reigning champion Aljamain Sterling back in 2020. Now that “Sandman” has made it very clear to everybody who he wants next, it will be up to the UFC to decide. One thing certain at this point is that both Vera and Dvalishvili will surely be a tough challenge for Sandhagen.
