Cory Sandhagen reveals getting Dana White’s word for next title shot if he beats Umar Nurmagomedov

The Middle East is a tricky location for many fighters. The jet lag could affect their performance in the octagon if they do not go early to adjust their bodies to the time zone. Cory Sandhagen plans to do just that and expressed excitement to return to Abu Dhabi. He will fight at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Why does Cory Sandhagen want Sean O’Malley to beat Merab Dvalishvili?

Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili is the next fight for the bantamweight title in the UFC. O’Malley is one title defense into his reign as the UFC champion and will likely take on Dvalishvili next. ‘The Machine’ has pushed for a title shot against O’Malley for the longest time and he will likely get it this year although the date has not been fixed.

Cory Sandhagen wants O’Malley to win because he believes he is a bigger fight than Sandhagen vs. Dvalishvili.

I’ll be rooting for O’Malley in the next one, just because the bigger the fight, the bigger the challenge, the better. I’ll be rooting for O’Malley and that’s one the fans want to see really, really bad. I really want to give the fans what they want. So yeah, I hope that’s the case. Cory Sandhagen via MMA Junkie

He had previously stated that O’Malley has a good chance of “clipping” Dvalishvili. During his interview on The MMA Hour, Sandhagen said Dvalishvili has more work to do than O’Malley and needs to close the distance with the champion who is quick on his feet. It will be a fun fight to watch but no official dates of the matchup are anywhere in sight.