It’s been a long time coming for Cory Sandhagen.
After three separate title eliminators and an interim title fight against Petr Yan in 2021, the #4 UFC bantamweight contender arrives at his first undisputed title fight this upcoming weekend in the co-main event of UFC 320.
Cory Sandhagen has his hands full with defending champion Merab Dvalishvili, a cardio and wrestling machine who is unbeaten in his last 13 fights in the Octagon.
While he’s being counted out by many, you can see how happy ‘Sandman’ is for the opportunity to take everything away from Dvalishvili on Oct. 4.
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Cory Sandhagen records title shot call with UFC’s Hunter Campbell
Sandhagen was at home filming comedy skits when the UFC came calling for his next fight.
Winner of four of his last five fights, Sandhagen called for a title opportunity after his stoppage win over former two-time champ Deiveson Figueiredo in May.
“Oh, s—, Hunter Campbell’s calling me,” Sandhagen posted his initial reaction to the UFC granting him a title shot against Dvalishvili.
Hunter Campbell is the UFC’s chief business officer.
“You’ve always stepped up for me, man,” Campbell told Sandhagen over the phone.
“Like I told you, if I saw an opening to do it where I think it makes sense, I was gonna f—— jump on it,” Campbell said of granting Sandhagen the title fight.
“Hey, let’s go. I appreciate you. I’ll be ready for then. I’ll plan October 4 in Vegas,” Sandhagen replied.
“Let’s go boy!” Sandhagen said after he hung up.
“Yes! Yes!” Sandhagen said ecstatically.
Cory Sandhagen eyes rematches with Merab Dvalishvili win
Should Sandhagen dethrone Dvalishvili, the American already has a few names in mind for who he’d like to defend the title against.
Sandhagen’s last two losses at 135 lbs have come against undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov and former champ Petr Yan, both by unanimous decision over five rounds.
Sandhagen recently told New York Post Sports that he wants to avenge those losses after he defeats Dvalishvili at UFC 320, but on his own terms.
“I don’t wanna fight Umar, and I don’t wanna fight Petr Yan in the Middle East again,” Sandhagen said.
“I wanna fight them here stateside [in USA] where they can deal with the travel and all of that stuff.”
“I’m excited to get those two rematches done too so that I can kind of…
“Legacy isn’t the most important thing to me, but beating Merab, who’s known as one of the greats and put really high on a pedestal, and then being able to go back and beat two of the guys that I know that I definitely can beat,” said Sandhagen.