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Cory Sandhagen Plans Apology to Khabib and Umar Nurmagomedov if He Wins at UFC Abu Dhabi

Allan Binoy
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Cory Sandhagen Plans Apology to Khabib and Umar Nurmagomedov if He Wins at UFC Abu Dhabi

Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov are set to headline UFC Abu Dhabi this weekend. Also in attendance will be Khabib Nurmagomedov, who has confirmed his presence in his cousin’s corner. Naturally, ‘Sandman’ could not pass up the opportunity to show his respect for ‘The Eagle,’ and even plans to shake his hand after emerging victorious.

Sandhagen knows what a threat Umar is to this division. However, he believes he is better than the Dagestani in every aspect of the game. In fact, the American is so confident of his chances, that in a recent interview with Daniel Cormier, he spoke about what he plans on doing if he beats ‘Young Eagle’ this weekend, saying,

“I’m gonna prove that I’m better than [Umar]. On Saturday, I plan on shaking Khabib’s hand, I plan on shaking Umar’s hand and apologizing and saying ‘I’m sorry that I had to beat you.'”

Although Umar has taken the UFC world by storm with his performances, Sandhagen believes that the young Dagestani still needs some time before dominating the division. Hence, while he is well aware that he might face the 27-year-old in a title bout sometime in the future, the American is confident of his current chances and believes he might even go on to become the champion after beating the Dagestani fighter.

However, such a feat will not be easy since Umar’s coach claims the young Dagestani has a better striking ability than Khabib himself.

Javier Mendez claims Umar is a better striker than Islam Makhachev and Khabib

While ‘Sandman’ believes that he can easily win this weekend’s bout, Umar’s coach, Javier Mendez, has a different opinion. In fact, if the AKA founder is to be believed, Umar is better than both Islam Makhachev and Khabib in the striking department.

In a recent interview with Helen Yee, Mendez addressed Umar’s striking prowess and compared him to the greats, saying,

“He’s not too far off… he’s great grappling, he’s good at takedowns, his striking is better than both of those guys.”

Interestingly, Umar has already been touted as the next Khabib and many believe their fighting style is the same. That coupled with elite striking makes him a pretty dangerous opponent, and ‘Sandman’ should not underestimate such a talent.

Post Edited By:Shraman Mitra

About the author

Allan Binoy

Allan Binoy

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Allan Binoy is a MMA journalist at The SportsRush. Taken to the sport in 2015, thanks to a certain Conor McGregor, Allan has himself dabbled in the martial arts. And having graduated from Loyola College, Chennai, with a degree in English Literature, he has learnt to use his love for language to have a voice in the MMA community. Allan has been writing about the gladiatorial stories for more than three years now and has pursued excellence at a number of reputable media organizations, covering every UFC PPV in the last couple of years. In addition to this, the southpaw is also a semi-professional soccer player for Diego Juniors FC in Pune, playing in the Pune Super Division League.

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