Umar Nurmagomedov is on the precipice of a number one contender fight in the bantamweight division and, after his last fight, called for that to come against Cory Sandhagen.
Now, Umar Nurmagomedov’s coach, Javier Mendez, explained to Bloody Elbow how Cory Sandhagen has made drastic improvements over his last few fights and his comments have further added to the tantalizing prospect of Nurmagomedov vs Sandhagen.
The first time this fight was booked
Following Umar’s recent win against Bekzat Almakhan, he called for a fight with Sandhagen, to which Cory replied by saying he wants the fight and wants it to be five rounds.
The two top bantamweights were previously scheduled to fight last August, but Umar Nurmagomedov had to withdraw due to injury. Rob Font stepped in for the undefeated 28-year-old and was beaten comprehensively by ‘The Sandman’.
Javier Mendez on why Nurmagomedov vs Sandhagen needs to happen
Javier Mendez explained to Bloody Elbow in an exclusive interview (courtesy of KingCasinoBonus) that the fight ‘needs to happen’ because of Sandhagen ‘spreading rumors’ following Umar pulling out of their first scheduled bout.
“We need top fights. I think because it was already scheduled and Cory went out and said some things about Umar pulls out so many times this and that, when in fact he’s only pulled out two times in his life.
“They (Sandhagen) spread the rumor about (Umar) being a person that pulls out all of the time but look at the history and statistics, he’s only been injured two times. The reputation they gave (Umar) was unjust so that needs to be taken care of.”
Mendez applauds Sandhagen’s improvements from a fighter and marketability standpoint
Mendez had some positive comments about Sandhagen from a fight perspective, stating that he is an ‘A+’ fighter in his book, because of his improvements in the cage and being able to sell himself as a fighter.
The 31-year-old has won all three of his last fights in impressive fashion, showing a different and more controlled and dominant style.
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“I think Cory Sandhagen is a great fighter with a great mind” Mendez admitted, “I think he’s got great standup skills and I think he’s proven in his last fight that he has a very good ground game.”
In the Coloradan’s last fight against Rob Font, he accumulated over 19 minutes of control time in their five-round fight, securing all seven of his takedown attempts.
“I also like the fact that he knows how to get attention now, media attention, he knows how to get attention. So Cory Sandhagen for me gets an A+ in how he’s improved himself as a fighter and as a person that can market a fight.” Mendez said.
With both Nurmagomedov and Sandhagen having called for this fight, there is a high likelihood that the UFC will decide to re-book it as a number-one contender fight.