Former interim bantamweight title challenger, Cory Sandhagen has staked his claim for a long-overdue fight with now-former undisputed titleholder, Sean O’Malley following the latter’s defeat at Noche UFC over the course of the weekend — claiming a drawn-out pairing should take place now.
Sandhagen, the current number four ranked bantamweight contender, most recently headlined UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi earlier this summer in his return to the Octagon — dropping a one-sided unanimous judging loss to the undefeated, Umar Nurmagomedov in the pair’s officially-billed title eliminator.
And as for Montana striker, O’Malley, the Contender Series alum headlined Noche UFC over the course of last weekend at the Las Vegas Sphere, losing his crown in a one-sided unanimous decision defeat of his own against surging wrestling ace, Merab Dvalishvili in the pair’s title grudge match.
Set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, O’Malley also confirmed how he is set to undergo a surgical procedure to address a labrum tear in his shoulder, which will keep him from action for an expected four-week period.
Cory Sandhagen stakes claim for intriguing fight with Sean O’Malley
However, according to Aurora technician, Sandhagen, if O’Malley should be fighting anybody in his return to action following his title loss — it should be him first and foremost.
“Good on Merab (Dvalishvili), congrats to the new champion and all of that stuff, blah blah blah but, we get into the breakdown, I’ve got to say that you are absolutely insane if you don’t want to see me and (Sean) O’Malley fight next,” Cory Sandhagen said on his YouTube channel following Noche UFC.
“You guys know that this has been a fight that’s been in the works for a really long time,” Cory Sandhagen explained. “I’m not going to try and sound like I am throwing this idea out at your guys, you already know that’s a good idea — me and O’Malley got next.”