Bantamweight Contender Hungry For Shot at Belt

“I don’t care who it’s against,” Cory Sandhagen began. “I just want to fight for the belt, man. I want my fair crack at the belt. [Petr] Yan is the only other guy really in the conversation and he went all five rounds with [Figuereido]”.

Regardless of adversary in his next fight, Sandhagen sent a message to both UFC CEO Dana White and Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell.

“I think I stamped my shot, man,” he said that night. “I’m going to give Dana and Hunter a call right after this.”

Cory Sandhagen Doubles Down on Title Fight Aspirations

Cory Sandhagen only needs to wait another two weeks to find out who he could potentially face in his bid for the UFC Bantamweight Championship. On June 7, UFC 316 will take place inside Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

That night’s headliner in The Garden State will see No. 1 contender Sean O’Malley (18-2, 1 NC MMA, 10-2, 1 NC UFC) attempt to wrest the title away from current champion Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in a rematch of their fight from Noche UFC, also known as UFC 306, from inside the Vegas Sphere.  In that first contest, O’Malley dropped the title by way of unanimous decision after 25 minutes of action.

During an appearance on the latest episode of The Overdogs Podcast, Cory Sandhagen was interviewed by host Mike Perry and took time out to say that he has his target set on Sean O’Malley.

“I think that when me and O’Malley fight, I’ll get to show that I’m a lot better than him,” he said on the podcast. “Unless I get that opportunity, I don’t really feel like arguing with the ether of the Internet about who’s better at what.”

Sandhagen Rips Into Sean O’Malley’s Resume

In the same interview with Mike Perry, Cory Sandhagen compared his resume with that of “Suga” Sean O’Malley.

“I mean, when you think about O’Malley, man, he’s had a good run at stuff,” Cory Sandhagen continued, “but I think if you fight tough guys for long enough, there [are] going to be nights where you just don’t win, you know what I mean? All of these guys are really good, and I fought the best guys in the division for a really long time.”

When a fighter of Cory Sandhagen’s caliber takes on and defeats a former champion in the UFC, like he did against Deiveson Figuereido earlier this month, and the fighter scores the victory in devastating fashion, the fighter deserves the chance to call his shot. Sandhagen did so in the immediate aftermath of his victory and has repeated his request again just this weekend.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

While the one nicknamed “Sandman” wants a shot at gold at 135 lbs, he actually owns fewer victories by way of stoppage than Sean O’Malley. Statistically speaking, Cory Sandhagen has 18 career wins since turning pro in MMA.

Of those 18 wins, he’s scored 11 of them inside the distance, with eight coming by way of knockout and three via submission. On the other hand, although Sean O’Malley has the identical number of wins as a professional in the sport, he has 13 total finishes, with 11 of them being scored by knockout.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of who Cory Sandhagen fights up next, a potential contest between him and Sean O’Malley would no doubt be among one of 2025’s most tantalizing bouts as this year moves toward its second half. When the UFC 316 main event begins on June 7, there will be one certainty:

Cory Sandhagen will be watching the five rounds (or less) of action like a hawk.