After a successful showing in Manchester, UFC will now head 4,500 miles east to Abu Dhabi, where Umar Nurmagomedov will make on Cory Sandhagen in the main event of the night. Well, Nurmagomedov seems quite confident before the fight as he recently commented on Sandhagen’s stamina while talking about how he might have an advantage over the Colorado native.
A few days prior, Sandhagen gave his take on the bout, claiming he could easily walk away with the victory by outlasting Nurmagomedov. Naturally, these comments did not sit well with the Russian fighter, who was looking for an opportunity to get back at his opponent.
According to Sport 24, the 28-year-old recently sat down for an interview, where he was asked about his thoughts on Sandhagen’s comments. This was the opportunity Nurmagomedov was looking for as he tore into his opponent, insisting that the fight would tire the Colorado native out. He even talked about how Sandhagen lost the fight against Petr Yan, saying,
“Didn’t he get tired in the Petr Yan fight? He talks like he is a cardio machine. He was winning the early rounds but he lost the fight because he got tired. So I am really surprised to hear comments like that from him like he can outlast me. Okay we will see, we will check this out.”
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Even though Sandman’s cardio is nothing to write home about, the fight against Yan at UFC 276 was an exception. In fact, the 32-year-old does not fade in all of his fights, and Nurmagomedov’s assessment might be a bit unfair.
In the meantime, Sandhagen is aiming for a statement victory against the Russian fighter, as he believes this will earn him a shot at the Bantamweight title.
Sandhagen looking past Nurmagomedov at the bigger picture
Based on the rankings, ‘Sandman’ has a lot more to lose in this fight than Nurmagomedov. The 32-year-old is ranked second in the bantamweight division, while his opponent is not even in the top 10. However, that does not faze the American, as he believes that a bout against Nurmagomedov is still a number one contender fight.
Interestingly, the Colorado native is certain that the UFC will give him a shot at the title if he can emerge victorious. Hence, for Sandhagen, what lies beyond matters more than the person he will face inside the octagon.
Well, it will truly be intriguing to see if Sandhagen can finally take that next step and challenge for the title, despite having fallen short in the past.
