“I should start hanging out with rapper…get some tattoos,” Cory Sandhagen sends sly jibe towards Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley, and other famous stars

The UFC booked Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov for a Fight Night event last year. The matchup didn’t make sense regarding rankings since ‘The Sandman’ ranked many spots above Nurmagomedov. Now, Sandhagen wondered about the matchup and why the UFC wants to push Nurmagomedov to the top. As such, he took a dig at the champion, Sean O’Malley.

In his recent appearance on the MMA Hour show, Cory Sandhagen spoke about the favoritism in the UFC. He coined the term ‘famous guy leverage.’ On that note, he took a sly jibe at Sean O’Malley and claimed he should also follow this practices. Here is what he said:

There's famous guy leverage. I'm trying to acquire some famous guy leverage. I think maybe I should start hanging out with rappers...I'll get some tattoos on my face, I'll color myself and I'll start hanging out with some rappers. But, it's just the nature of the sport, this is where the sport and the entertainment mix.

Cory Sandhagen via The MMA Hour

Sean O’Malley is a huge star in the UFC, and his title win propelled his star power over the horizon. However, his title contention came under huge criticism since he remained inactive for a year. Conversely, the UFC pushed Umar Nurmagomedov to face the top-five-ranked Cory Sandhagen. As such, ‘The Sandman’ claimed these were due to the UFC favoring popular personalities.

Umar is the cousin of the famous Khabib Nurmagomedov. On the other hand, personalities like Andrew Tate and Snoop Dogg have spoken highly of O’Malley in the past. Hence, there is some merit to what Sandhagen said.

Cory Sandhagen is currently on the sidelines due to an injury he suffered in his last fight with Rob Font. But he hoped to return soon and fight for the title. As such, he welcomed the idea of starting fight camp in a couple of months and fighting in the middle of the year.

Cory Sandhagen on rebooking a fight with Umar Nurmagomedov

Cory Sandhagen was set to face Umar Murmagomedov last year. The matchup shocked the MMA community since ‘The Sandman’ was in the top five, and Nurmagomedov just entered the rankings. However, the fight was canceled after the Dagestani pulled out from the bout. Now, Sandhagen weighed in on rebooking the fight and gave his thoughts.

In the MMA Hour show, Cory Sandhagen pointed out he helped the UFC and handed Umar Nurmagomedov a chance earlier. But, since the ship had sailed, he declined a potential rebooking of the fight. As such, he acknowledged the recent announcement from Nurmagomedov of getting a fight booked. Also, he expressed his excitement in looking at how the Dagestani performed against a top-ranked opponent.

Umar Nurmagomedov last fought Raoni Barcelos at the beginning of 2023. After almost a year, he revealed that he was getting a fight booked. But, it wasn’t against Cory Sandhagen as he declined, giving him the opportunity again. Further, ‘The Sandman’ hoped to fight for the title on his return.

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