“Sandman” took a tough loss.
Cory Sandhagen lost his title shot at UFC Abu Dhabi last night (Sat., Aug. 3, 2024) when Umar Nurmagomedov cruised to a pretty clear unanimous decision from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Hours after the fight, Sandhagen took to his Instagram to release a statement about his important loss.
“Tough sport,” Sandhagen wrote. “Umar is really world class – it was an honor to fight one of the world’s best. Congrats to him. Gonna keep getting better like I always do. Thanks for the support. I love you guys. PEACE.”
Sandhagen (17-5) has been criticized for being unable to win the “fights that matter,” unfortunately, he came up short again. He lost to Aljamain Sterling in a No. 1 contender fight, lost to Petr Yan for the Bantamweight interim title, and lost another No. 1 contender matchup yesterday.
Nevertheless, the 32-year-old is still one of the best 135ers on the planet right now, and he’ll be back in the mix again.
Maybe he’ll get his dream matchup against Dominick Cruz now.
For complete UFC Abu Dhabi: “Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov” results and play-by-play, click HERE!