Former title challenger set for rematch on UFC 329 card after being snubbed of Sean O’Malley clash

Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Cory Sandhagen has needed to settle with a rematch for his next fight.

The number 4 ranked bantamweight within the premier promotion hasn’t fought since he got here up short against Merab Dvalishvili in his first undisputed UFC title fight last October.

As were many challengers before him, Cory Sandhagen was dominated by ‘The Machine’ for five rounds, unable to maintain the relentless Georgian away from his legs.

And after months of calling for an enormous fight as he continues to look to bounce back into the win column, the fan-favorite finally has his next outing booked.

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Cory Sandhagen vs Mario Bautista 2 booked for International Fight Week

This Tuesday afternoon, news was reported on X that Sandhagen is ready for a rematch against Mario Bautista on International Fight Week’s UFC 329 card.

The 2 bantamweight’s first met back in 2019 in what was Bautista’s UFC debut and Sandhagen got here out on top by submitting Bautista in the primary round.

The 32-year-old’s last outing got here back in October last 12 months when he took on Umar Nurmagomedov in what was a title eliminator bout, coming up short over a 3 round decision.

Initially, Sandhagen was extremely hopeful of a high profile matchup against Sean O’Malley, but the previous champion managed to bypass that potentially tough fight.

That led to Sandhagen accusing O’Malley of taking ‘low-risk’ fights when it was announced he would fight Aiemann Zahabi on the UFC White House card this coming June.

After he came upon he wouldn’t be fighting O’Malley, Sandhagen agreed to fight Payton Talbott however the promotion clearly opted to go in a distinct direction.

This past week, Zahabi attempted to extend the anticipation for his clash against ‘Suga’ when he revealed that it’s a title eliminator fight, with a title shot on the road for the winner.

Despite that, UFC boss Dana White got here out and debunked that claim, stating it is going to depend upon how the winner of that fight looks.