Aljamain Sterling thinks Cory Sandhagen could have avoided his unfortunate position in the title picture.
Sandhagen (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) is on a three-fight winning streak – including a recent dominant win over current title challenger Marlon Vera this past March. Vera runs things back with bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in the UFC 299 headliner on March 9.
In his most recent win over Rob Font at UFC on ESPN 50, Sandhagen tore his triceps in Round 1. He was originally scheduled to face Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), and Sterling thinks Sandhagen took a risk by fighting short-notice replacement Font.
“If I’m Sandhagen, I’d be kicking myself,” Sterling told The Schmo. “Like damn, maybe I should have sat that one out and just waited and the doors would have opened up for me.”
Rumors emerged that the UFC plans on rebooking Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov after images of Dana White’s “War Room” were leaked – even though Sandhagen previously mentioned he has no desire to reschedule that fight.
“They’re giving him Umar, man,” Sterling said. “Unfortunately for him, it’s sh*tty because if he had not torn his tricep, he would be fighting Sean next. I still even think that’s weird because he beats Rob Font on short notice, should he leapfrog Merab (Dvalishvili), being that Merab is the No. 1 contender?”
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Sandhagen said the idea of fighting for the title upon his return shouldn’t be considered “outlandish,” and that he no longer sees upside in fighting unbeaten rising contender Nurmagomedov.
