Former interim UFC bantamweight title challenger Cory Sandhagen says a notable name toward the top of the rankings recently rejected the chance to throw down with him before the end of this year.
Merab Dvalishvili now sits at the top of the bantamweight division following his win over Sean O’Malley this past weekend at UFC 306. With “Suga” now set to return to the contender ranks, there is sure to be several other 135-pounders wanting to face him in his next outing.
One of those names is Cory Sandhagen, who is looking to bounce back from his defeat to Umar Nurmagomedov in August.
With the Dagestani likely being the next contender in line, Sandhagen thinks that he and O’Malley makes a lot of sense, especially after he claims he was turned down by another top contender…
Cory Sandhagen Says Deiveson Figueiredo Rejected December Fight
Dvalishvili has made it pretty clear that, in his opinion, former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is most deserving of the next title shot. The Brazilian has won three in a row since moving up a weight class with impressive performances against Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt, and Marlon Vera.
With O’Malley potentially taking some time off, a fight between Sandhagen and “Deus Da Guerra” would make a lot of sense while Nurmagomedov challenges for the belt.
However, in his post-event breakdown of UFC 306, Sandhagen revealed on his YouTube channel that this fight has already been offered and declined on Figueiredo’s side.
“The Sandman” initially said that the fight was targeted for September but later corrected himself by saying that it was on the table for December.
With the other top names in the division being busy or inactive, he sees this as the perfect time to finally match him and O’Malley up.
“I got to say, I think that you’re absolutely insane if you don’t want to see me and O’Malley fight next, okay. I am pretty sure that maybe the entire division is going to be calling out Sean O’Malley next, just because that’s the way that people do things, but you guys know that this has been a fight that’s been in the works for a long time. I’m not going to try to sound like I’m trying to throw this idea at you guys, you guys know it’s a good idea. Back me up on all that stuff, me and O’Malley got next.
“Figgy turned down a fight against me in September, which is just kind of whack because I thought that Figgy was a little bit more about that life than that. I’m kind of actually hurt that Figgy doesn’t want to fight me in December. I don’t know what that dude’s plan is, I think Yan’s out for a little bit, Henry’s like hurt/not hurt sometimes. I don’t really know what goes on with that guy, but me and O’Malley got next.”
