Former interim bantamweight champion, Cory Sandhagen is set for a spell on the sidelines off the back of his unanimous decision win over Rob Font at UFC Nashville over the weekend, suffering a complete tear of his right tricep inside the opening round en route to his judging win.
Sandhagen, who currently holds the number four rank in the official bantamweight rankings ahead of the updated rankings release later this week, was intiaily scheduled to headline the Tennessee event against the surging Russian grappler, Umar Nurmagomedov.
Remaining on the Nashville showing amid the withdrawal of Nurmagomedov amid an injury suffered, Sandhagen turned in his third consecutive victory with his win over Font – adding to a prior one-sided split decision win Marlon Vera back in April, and a doctor’s stoppage TKO win over Song Yadong in consecutive headlining fights.
Cory Sandhagen reveals gruesome tricep injury suffered at UFC Nashville
However, faced with severe adversity in the early goings of his dominant wrestling display against New England Cartel staple, Font over the course of the weekend, Sandhagen, who revealed he suffered an injury to his right arm in the very first round, has now confirmed he is set to go under the knife to address an entire right tricep tear.
“Fully torn tricep in round one,” Cory Sandhagen posted on his official Instagram account. “Wasn’t able to punch or elbow with that arm without pain and it feeling like sh*t. Did what I had to do to win that night. Surgery this week – back soon!”
And despite receiving severe criticizm for his performance off the back of his wrestling-heavy performance against Font – particularly from former foe and current undisputed bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, Sandhagen has defended his display in Nashville to boot.
“I’m on my way to being one of the best mixed martial artists in the world,” Cory Sandhagen told assembled media after UFC Nashville. “I want to be able to outwrestle the strikers and I want to be able to outstrike the wrestlers. That’s my path. That’s what I’m trying to do.”