Sterling may not stick around at bantamweight for much longer, but Sandhagen is willing to move up with him if it means getting a rematch.
Cory Sandhagen wants a rematch against Aljamain Sterling — and he would consider a change in weight class for it.
Sandhagen suffered his first UFC loss to Sterling, who submitted him by first-round rear-naked choke at UFC 250 nearly three years ago. Since that loss, the ’Sandman’ has won three of his past five fights, with ‘Performance of the Night’ awarded KOs of Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar among his highlights.
For his next UFC appearance, Sandhagen has Marlon Vera in his crosshairs. A win over ‘Chito’ could get Sandhagen a second championship opportunity, which would see him vs. Sterling again. However, the ‘Funk Master’ has recently revealed he may move up from bantamweight to featherweight soon.
If that is true, then Sandhagen may move up with him if it means getting a rematch.
“I think even if he does move up, I’ll probably follow him,” laughed Sandhagen in a recent interview with Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie. “I would really like to get that fight back, so maybe in the future that’ll happen.”
According to Sterling, his change in weight class is about avoiding a fight with Merab Dvalishvili, his friend and Serra-Longo Fight Team teammate. Sandhagen appreciates the reigning champion for doing that, especially since it gives Dvalishvili a shot at a world title.
“I actually really commend Aljamain on making a move like that,” said Sandhagen. “Whether he follows through with it is a different story, but I think that him doing that for his close buddy is something that says a lot about Aljamain, and I really commend him on being that type of friend.
“I think that’s really cool when you can also care about the people that you’re competing against to some level of degree, which I appreciate Aljamain doing,” continued Sandhagen. “But like I said, we’ll see if he does it.”
Sandhagen vs. Vera headlines UFC Vegas 69, the upcoming Fight Night event scheduled for Sat., Feb. 18, at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.