Cory Sandhagen just wants to fight.
A top bantamweight contender in the UFC, Sandhagen (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has not competed since August 2019, despite being healthy. Now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, his spell in limbo continues.
A bout between Sandhagen and Aljamain Sterling was at one point in the works for May 16 at UFC on ESPN+ 33 in San Diego. However, the fight ended up being too short-notice for Sterling, who was coming off an injury.
Presently, UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is expected to face former champ Dominick Cruz on the promotion’s May 9 card. But Sandhagen said he didn’t think the matchup made much sense.
“I see things pretty logistically from that standpoint that I like MMA,” Sandhagen told MMA Junkie. “I got into MMA for the purpose of fighting the best guys. I was under the assumption that that’s what the organization was doing too. I don’t think these guys are bad fighters by any means, obviously. I don’t think Cruz is a bad fighter, Cejudo is a bad fighter, or any of these guys are bad fighters. What I will say though is that on paper, I have the best argument for the next title shot.”
While he disagrees with the notion the champion is fighting the best challengers available, Sandhagen understands that popularity speaks volumes in the UFC. Only five fights into his tenure with the promotion, he knows that longevity means a lot in the promotion’s eyes.
“It’s a little frustrating, but I understand that money is a part of it, too,” Sandhagen said. “I just don’t really know how to get myself to be famous enough to be in that position. I guess that comes with fights and who you’re fighting. I’m not stressing it too much.”
Should Cruz go down with another injury and the UFC calls Sandhagen with a short-notice opportunity to fight May 9, the Team Elevation product said he’d have no choice but to accept the fight.
“When a world championship fight comes up, you say yes,” he admitted. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the quarantine, right out of the couch, whatever it is – you say yes to that fight. I’d say yes to that fight. I’m bringing my weight down and staying in moderate shape, but I’m not putting all of my eggs into the basket of that happening. If that call comes, I’m not going to say no to that.”
If the fight between Cejudo and Cruz goes on as planned, Sandhagen hopes to circle back to the Sterling fight. There is one condition, though. A resident of Colorado, Sandhagen said he wants to wait until the state repeals its stay-at-home order.
“I want the Aljamain fight,” Sandhagen said. “I already did all my studying on him. I feel like I have the blueprint laid down. It’s just about a matter of training. I told them because the UFC is going to have to rattle out fights as often as possible when the light at the end of the tunnel starts to show itself.
“I was going to tell them, ‘Listen, I’ll just fight whenever,’ just because I was really antsy. (Now,) I think the smarter thing to do would be to wait until our Colorado lockdown is all done, so I can actually start touching my training partners and not just running and lifting and hitting the Bob downstairs. I think the earliest I could be happy with is June.”
To hear the full interview with Sandhagen, check out the video below.
Cory Sandhagen admits he'd take short-notice title shot, but focused on Aljamain Sterling bout
