Cory Sandhagen really wants to fight Sean O’Malley next. For the fans, of course. Ever since ‘Sugar’ lost his belt, a lot of big names in the division have called him out to a fight. That’s because everyone is looking for the fastest way to the title shot and that way is currently through him.
But the division will have to wait since the former champ is fresh off hip surgery and will only return to the octagon after a break of 7 to 9 months. In that time, a lot can change in a division as stacked as the bantamweight.
The champ Merab Dvalishvili will look to defend his belt at least once in that time frame. And upon his return, O’Malley will no doubt want a shot at the title.
With so many good matchups at 135, there is one fighter who has given clarity on who he wants next. In an interview with Michael Bisping on his YouTube channel Cory Sandhagen made his call,
“There is no better fight than you can make man. Like me and O’Malley is just, it’s a banger of a fight everyone knows it, you read all the comments it’s the only fight people are asking for.”
Sandhagen is a dangerous opponent at 135, but at the moment he has nothing to offer to Sean O’Malley since he is not even in the top 3.
For him to have a chance at fighting O’Malley next, he will have to move up in rankings by taking on either Petr Yan or Umar Nurmagomedov.
In fact, ‘Sandman‘ wants this fight so bad that he is willing to wait until June for O’Malley to return to the Octagon.
Cory Sandhagen willing to be inactive for over 6 months
Sandman will have to be inactive for over 6 months is he wants a shot at Sean O’Malley. No doubt this would be an exciting fight to watch, but waiting that long for a fight that is not guaranteed has Michael Chandler, and Conor McGregor written all over it.
In the same interview with Michael Bisping, ‘Sandman’ revealed how he is willing to wait just because he thinks it is the fight the fans want,
“That’s the fight that everyone wants to see happen and I know Sean wants to wait until June….if it means waiting a little bit to fight in a fight where fans are most excited for, I would definitely big time entertain that”
Fans will just be hoping Sean O’Malley doesn’t pull a Conor McGregor on Cory Sandhagen, even though the fight is not official yet.
‘Sugar’ has not yet responded to the call out, and currently, he has some different plans in his head. He wants the title shot as soon as possible.
