Cory Sandhagen echoes calls for title after UFC Des Moines win: ‘I’m the next guy, no doubt’
Former interim bantamweight challenger, Cory Sandhagen has claimed he has now solidified his status as the next title challenger off the back of his win over UFC Des Moines — claiming no other contender at the weight limit deserves it more than him.
Sandhagen, who returned to winning-ways over the weekend, did so in impressive fashion against a former undisputed flyweight kingpin.
And forcing a second round knee injury on former titleholder, Deiveson Figueiredo, Colorado native, Sandhagen prevailed with a TKO win as a result — rebounding following a dominant decision loss to most recent title chaser, Umar Nurmagomedov last summer.
Staking his claim for a shot at the winner of next month’s UFC 316 headliner next month in the aftermath of his win over Figueiredo, Sandhagen offered to fight either Merab Dvalishvili, or long-time rival, Sean O’Malley next.
Cory Sandhagen stakes claim for title fight after UFC 316
And during an interview with Ariel Helwani for Uncrowned this evening, the perennial challenger echoed his calls for a title fight next. Over any other contender at the bantamweight limit.
I’ll definitely be at the show [UFC 316],” Cory Sandhagen said, “But I think that I’ve certainly earned my shot at the title. Especially since Umar (Nurmagomedov) just fought for the belt. The only other guy is (Petr) Yan, and I hate to be a politician and have to shoot down someone else to put me up a little bit, but Yan has lost to both of them (Dvalishvili and O’Malley).
“And he went five rounds with ‘Figgy’ in a really competitive fight,” Cory Sandhagen explained. “I went a round and a half with ‘Figgy’ in a really uncompetitive, one-sided fight that I won and that I finished. So I think that I’m the next guy, no doubt.”
Competing for gold — albeit interim, back in 2021, Sandhagen suffered a decision loss to former undisputed bantamweight kingpin, Petr Yan in a short-notice in Abu Dhabi.
