Athletes
Cory Sandhagen Wants To Prove He Is ‘The Guy’
After Turning In A Veteran Effort Last Time Out, Cory Sandhagen Hopes He Can Show The UFC He Is A Future Champion At UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen
Cory Sandhagen is comfortable with the idea that he is now a UFC veteran. The numbers back up the notion. The 30-year-old has competed 11 times in the Octagon (with a highlight-packed 8-3 record to boot), including three main events and a crack at a piece of the UFC bantamweight title. His most recent headliner featured him opposite a 25-year-old up-and-comer in Song Yadong, and Sandhagen put together a complete performance en route to a fourth-round TKO victory.
The result halted a two-fight skid, and although he was muted about the pressure leading up to that bout, a relieved Sandhagen admitted afterward a third loss in a row “would have sucked.”
Fighters On The Rise | UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen
“I think that there's just a familiarity with adversity that is only gained through experience,” Sandhagen told UFC.com. “I feel like I've definitely gained a lot of familiarity with adversity, which kind of makes me make better decisions. I think that it's little decisions that will make you win or lose a round sometimes, especially at the really high level.”
Announcers React to Cory Sandhagen Finishes | UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen
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Announcers React to Cory Sandhagen Finishes | UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen
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Against Song, Sandhagen put into action the lessons he learned from losses to former champions TJ Dillashaw and Petr Yan. Through four rounds of action, Sandhagen attempted 14 takedowns after shooting just 15 times total in his previous 10 fights, according to Fight Metric. Even though he was successful just once, it was an added wrinkle to his already-sophisticated offense. Despite the fight going to plan, Sandhagen still felt Song’s power, and when he found himself on wobbly legs, he recalled experiencing that for the first time against Yan.
All told, it was the kind of mature performance you’d hope to see in a contender. Sandhagen said he doesn’t expect to turn into an “offensive wrestling monster,” but he knows the added tool to his kit will only help him as he continues to fight the best in the world at 135 pounds. He sees himself as one of the better kickboxers on the roster and hopes this added piece helps him close the gap on his road to UFC gold.
“One thing that I do particularly well compared to a lot of the other guys in the UFC is I make people's brains have to process a lot of information,” he said. “I think adding wrestling just made it so that I can kind of double-down on something that I already do really well (kickboxing). The goal is to make (wrestling) a legitimate threat so that I can just clog up people's processing speed even more than I think that I already do. I think that that's going to make for a hell of a competitor in the future.”
Sandhagen felt it was good to “test drive” that evolved portion of his game against Song. Now, he gets an even stiffer test against a fellow veteran in Marlon “Chito” Vera, who might be one of the hottest fighters on the roster at present.
In Vera’s last four fights, the Ecuadorian has four wins, including two Fight of the Night bonuses and two performance bonus-winning knockouts. Although Vera is about eight months Sandhagen’s junior, he has twice the amount of UFC fights to his name since joining the roster as a 21-year-old in November 2014.
That also provides plenty of tape to dissect, and Sandhagen highly respects Vera’s durability, cardio and power, as well as his ability to utilize those tools to break opponents down. The highly anticipated, high-stakes main event is one Sandhagen sees going in a multitude of different ways, but ultimately, he understands Vera is the type of guy who relishes a good scrap.
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen
“I think he just likes being in dogfights,” Sandhagen said. “I think that's where he's most comfortable, and I think that he's used to that, and he enjoys that. If you're not ready for a dogfight, you'll definitely get f***ed up in a fight. I'm just making sure that I'm prepared for a dogfight, if that's what it turns into.”
Originally, this fight was scheduled to take place in the UFC APEX on February 18, but a couple weeks before they arrived in Las Vegas, the promotion called an audible and moved the fight back to the March 25 fight night in San Antonio, Texas.
While a fight moving a week or two is just part of the game, six additional weeks on top of an already long camp is quite the haul. Sandhagen said he didn’t mind it all that much, though. Instead, he appreciated the opportunity to take a “little mental and disciplinary break” before going back to work.
On top of the chance to indulge in some food one normally doesn’t during a camp, he is eager to experience a non-Vegas fight week on American soil and feel the buzz of a packed arena for the first time since 2019.
“I like walking around different cities and noticing the really small differences,” he said. “The different types of mom-and-pop shops that they have out there, the different things that they sell, even advertisements; I think that sometimes says a lot about the area. I just like walking around. I like seeing people that dress differently and how they do things in Texas because Texas definitely has its own kind of culture to it.”
The ever-curious Sandhagen is also intrigued about the way the crowd’s energy will impact what is a crucial fight in the bantamweight division.
Vera is a longtime fan-favorite, and looking at both bodies of work, the fight projects as one of the most intriguing matchups of 2023 thus far.
Keen on the matchup’s hype, Sandhagen is aware of the chance at hand. Merab Dvalishvili staked his claim as the No. 1 contender after a dominant showing earlier this month against Yan. However, his refusal to fight his good friend Aljamain Sterling for the belt complicates an always-tricky title picture. And with Sterling welcoming Henry Cejudo back into the picture at UFC 288, loud statements are necessary for anyone hoping for the next title shot.
Sandhagen – one to always have a good perspective on things in and out of the cage – has been around long enough to know what is in and out of his very quick hands, as well as whose hands control the order of operations when it comes to title fights, and that’s all his mind is trained on come March 25.
“I want to have one of those championship performances where people are like, ‘Oh, yeah, that's definitely going to be the guy one day,’” Sandhagen said. “The more people I can get on board with that, the more I think the UFC matchmakers will get on board with that, too. A big goal of mine is to be champ in the UFC, and you don't really get an opportunity to do that if you don't go out and put out those types of performances.
“I just hope that I have another one of those championship performances where it's just undeniable that people will see that I can be that guy.”
UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen took place live from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on March 25, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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