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Cory Sandhagen: “I’m One Of The Best To Do It”
Bantamweight Contender Cory Sandhagen Believes A Championship Statement Is Coming To Nashville At UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Font
Cory Sandhagen is full of surprises. Sure, he loves launching into a flying knee or twirling into a wicked spinning attack when his opponents aren’t expecting it, but the bantamweight contender added a new wrinkle to his bag this year when he started expressing himself a bit more out of the Octagon and online. With a tongue-in-cheek sensibility, Sandhagen dubbed himself “UFC’s No. 1 Content Creator” and started sharing everything from book recommendations and striking techniques to the occasional reaction to awkward interactions between his peers.
“I think that the internet is supposed to be a funny place or an educational place,” Sandhagen told UFC.com. “The only things that I think the Internet was ever created to (do is) actually help us. It shouldn't be used to like spread whatever. Funny and educational - that's it. I didn't really know how to do social media. I thought it was a bit vain. It felt like a vain activity. Like what’s the motivation behind doing this? But now I'm just like, ‘Oh, I'm just going to try to be funny, or I'm going to try to help people get good at fighting. Those are the two things that I enjoy doing.”
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Sandhagen knows he isn’t the bright and shiny household name despite all his highlight reel moments in the Octagon. He doesn’t have the technicolor personality and appearance of a Sean O’Malley, and, as it stands, he doesn’t hold the bantamweight belt, which currently resides with Aljamain Sterling. Those two will duke it out in the main event at UFC 292.
Not wanting to sit on his hands and idle, Sandhagen agreed to a main event bout with the rising Umar Nurmagomedov, an undefeated fighter many have tabbed as a future title contender, and a man who has found a hard time finding willing opponents in the Top 10. It was a risk Sandhagen welcomed, but about three weeks ago, Nurmagomedov pulled out of the bout and left the Colorado native without a dance partner. In stepped Rob Font, a fellow Top 5 fighter who was slated to fight in Boston at UFC 292 against Song Yadong before Song exited the matchup.
Subsequently, Sandhagen spent the last two-and-a-half weeks training with a multitude of bodies preparing for Font. As Sandhagen put it, he spent a lot of time “chin-scratching, staring at the sky” as he formulated a game plan to thwart the Bostonian.
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“I feel really comfortable and settled in fighting a guy like Rob Font,” Sandhagen said. “I'm glad it's switching from Umar to Font, not Font to Umar. That's a lot more of a challenge to fight someone that's orthodox and then it goes to unorthodox. I also try to put myself in the shoes of what it would be like to try to fight me in two-and-a-half weeks, and I don't think that would be the most fun type of thing to try to figure out.”
Beyond the technical wizardry with which he operates in a fight, Sandhagen’s processing speed is arguably his biggest strength. Against Vera, his constant stance switching, lateral movement and change-of-pace seemed to overload “Chito” and render the Ecuadorian knockout artist hesitant.
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Although the win was Sandhagen’s first via decision since his August 2019 victory over Raphael Assunção, some felt the performance was his most complete to date. Sandhagen himself mentioned experiencing a sort of out-of-body experience in the fight and found a good balance between the calm, Zen-like state he sought in the early part of his career and the anger-fueled aggressiveness he cultivated in his more recent fights. While he would like to have another masterclass type of performance on August 5, he doesn’t feel tied to repeating the same process in hopes of the same result.
“I don't get too set on trying to just recreate situations that worked over and over again,” Sandhagen said. “I think that life moves forward, so you got to move forward with it, but I think that what I did really well against ‘Chito’ is I was able to stay in a super centered spot and a super present spot while I was fighting.”
The mental balance aligns with Sandhagen’s rounding off of his skillset that makes the 31-year-old’s goal of earning UFC gold seem all the more obtainable. With “Funk Master” and “Suga” set to fight for the strap in a couple more weeks, Sandhagen already has narratives mapped out to make his case in the event of any result.
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For Sterling, Sandhagen believes he owes the champ “a nap” after suffering a technical submission loss early in their 2020 bout. That fight spurred Sandhagen on a journey that led to two spectacular finishes and a real charge toward the top of the division.
For Sterling, Sandhagen believes he owes the champ “a nap” after suffering a technical submission loss early in their 2020 bout. That fight spurred Sandhagen on a journey that led to two spectacular finishes and a real charge toward the top of the division.
Against O’Malley, Sandhagen is aware that is a matchup fans are drooling over – a potential acid trip of a fight given both men’s creativity and penchant for the spectacular.
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He isn’t overlooking Font, who Sandhagen described as “consistent,” even if his name-value is overlooked. In Nashville, both men on the marquee are keen to make a championship-statement in an entertaining fashion fitting for Music City.
“Me and Font are really aggressive guys that really, really push the pace,” he said. “I think that that's what the fans are in for. I know that I'm a really exciting, fun guy to watch fight. That's why the UFC is putting me in main events in cities now.
“When you get two guys like that in one of the most exciting divisions in the UFC, it's going to be an amazing show. Maybe (Font) is not as big of a name as Umar. I'm not as big of a name as an O'Malley, but I think that as far as fighting goes, I'm one of the best to do it right now.”
UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Font took place live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on August 5, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
