Cory Sandhagen is decided to get a UFC title shot in 2025, and it starts with a UFC on ESPN 67 major event win over Deiveson Figueiredo.
After dropping a unanimous decision to Umar Nurmagomedov in a bantamweight title eliminator in August, Sandhagen (17-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) will try and put himself back on the contender path against Figueiredo (24-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) within the headliner of the May 3 event at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa (ESPN2, ESPN+).
With expectations that 135-pound champ Merab Dvalishvili will rematch Sean O’Malley in his next defense, Sandhagen is taking a look at his upcoming fight as a primary opportunity to make an announcement. He’s certainly one of the highly ranked names who hasn’t fought either man, and Sandhagen thinks there could be fan desire to see him fight Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) or O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for gold if he performs in the way he anticipates.
“I just like the fight rather a lot,” Sandhagen told MMA Junkie. “I even have quite a lot of benefits going into this fight against Figgy. I’ve grown a lot as a fighter. I lost an in depth one against a man that lost an in depth one to the champ. I still don’t think I’m very far off from the belt by any means. I still think that I could one or two fights away of course. I’m the one guy that hasn’t fought Merab that’s sort of going to be within the talks here pretty soon. I also think your entire world desires to see me and O’Malley fight one another. They’ve been begging for that fight, in order that’s one which I definitely want too.
“I believe this 12 months goes to be a extremely good 12 months for me. Hopefully I’ll get in three fights and certainly one of them will likely be a championship fight. That may be just a little optimistic, but that’s what I’m going to shoot for. I’m just excited to get back in. I believe that I’m going to look great against a man like Figgy. I do very well against guys which are attempting to find a shot to complete the fight. With Figgy you might have to fret about submissions and knockout, but I do very well against those guys and I believe it’s going to be a fight where I can look really dynamic and placed on a extremely masterful performance.”
Sandhagen, No. 6 in the newest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings, said he sees paths to victory for each Dvalishvili and O’Malley in a possible rematch for the belt. The 32-year-old likes how he matches up with either side, and hopes he’ll have the support if he can deliver against No. 11-ranked Figueiredo.
“Whether O’Malley or Merab wins, I’m the one guy in the highest five that hasn’t fought Merab,” Sandhagen said. “Then O’Malley is someone people have been begging to have me and him fight for a extremely very long time. The best way that I believe that I can beat Figgy, I’m pretty sure in my head goes to be a performance that speaks very loudly to me getting a title shot next.”
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