Cory Sandhagen is pretty much close to being a veteran of the UFC, like, he has fought both the people who are involved in the 135 lbs title fight next month. Sandhagen is the #4 ranked bantamweight in the official UFC rankings, he is coming back this Saturday after a layoff of nearly a year from fighting, when he will face upcoming UFC title prospect Song Yadong at UFC Vegas 60 happening at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.
Sandhagen is 14-4 in his overall MMA career, with 9 finishes and significant wins over the likes of Frankie Edgar, Marlon Moraes, John Lineker, Raphael Assuncao, Iuri Alcantara and many more. Sandhagen is currently on a rough run as he is coming from a 2-fight skid with back-to-back losses against former world champions TJ Dillashaw and Petr Yan.
Cory Sandhagen believes that Aljamain Sterling has good physical features that would help him in Dillashaw’s fight
The UFC bantamweight division is rather on an exciting note for the fans as of now, with Aljamain Sterling, the reigning UFC champion, having defended his title against nemesis Petr Yan back in April 2022, he is now back to face another world champion in TJ Dillashaw who is looking forward to becoming the UFC champion for the third time in his career. Like Sandhagen, other fighters who are just a couple of wins away from getting a title shot are Marlon Moraes and Merab Dvalishvili.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani at The MMA Hour, Sandhagen talks about his return to UFC Vegas 60 against Yadong, his take on Sean O’Malley vs Petr Yan fight, his change of mindset during the last few months, his taste for coffee and music and much more. In the midst of all, Sandhagen gives his prediction for the co-main event between Sterling and Dillashaw at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.
“I think Aljo’s gonna beat him,” says Sandhagen. “Part of it has to do with me counting him out so much against Yan and then he wins so awesomely, to be honest with you, but then from like a technical skill standpoint, I think Aljo has a lot of really good physical features like I think he’s like a powerful guy…”
What do you make of Sandhagen’s thoughts on the upcoming title fight in the bantamweight division? Who do you think wins? Who do you think wins between Sandhagen and his next opponent, Song Yadong, this weekend? Dillashaw is known for the complex set of combinations that he uses in standup to keep his opponents’ defence on the edges and eventually put on a finish over them if possible. Sterling shines the most through his ground game.
