Cody Garbrandt breaks down exactly why he thought Cory Sandhagen beat T.J. Dillashaw at UFC Vegas 32
Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt believes Cory Sandhagen did enough to win the fight against T.J. Dillashaw in the main event of UFC Vegas 32.
Garbrandt was asked by a fan on Twitter what he thought about the toe-to-toe fight and whether the split-decision victory awarded to Dillashaw made sense. Cody Garbarandt replied:
"Legit thought Cory [Sandhagen] did way more damage the take downs didn’t do shit with them and controlling him against the cage wasn’t a deciding factor, Cory looked cleaner and did more damage. Feel for Cory that was his fight."
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov also believes Cory Sandhagen won the fight owing to the damage inflicted.
The fight between T.J. Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen was indeed a rollercoaster. Although the cut over Dillashaw's eye made it seem like 'Sandman' was dominating, the fight remained extremely competitive.
On the feet, T.J. Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen traded blows throughout the 25-minute scrap. Sandhagen hit Dillashaw with some powerful shots that were capable of delivering knockouts. However, Dillashaw walked through them and landed some menacing strikes of his own while closing the distance.
Cory Sandhagen edged out the advantage in terms of strikes landed and accuracy, but the difference in stats was negligible.
T.J. Dillashaw kept the pressure on Sandhagen throughout the fight. He controlled the center and the clinches often ended with T.J. Dillashaw on Cory Sandhagen's back, pushing him towards the fence.
The fight ended with a 47-48, 48-47, 48-47 split-decision victory in favor of former champion T.J. Dillashaw.
Cody Garbrandt calls out T.J. Dillashaw for trilogy fight
Immediately after the main event at UFC Vegas 32 concluded, Cody Garbrandt tweeted:
'No Love' has faced T.J. Dillashaw on two prior occasions. The two first fought after Cody Garbrandt beat Dominick Cruz to win the UFC bantamweight title.
His first title defense came against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217 in November 2017. The fight ended with a second-round KO as Dillashaw handed Garbrandt his first professional career loss.
Cody Garbrandt attempted to take his title back in an immediate rematch at UFC 227. However, T.J. Dillashaw got the better of him this time around as well by knocking 'No Love' out in round one.
Evidently, the animosity between the two is still alive. After the win at UFC Vegas 32, Dillashaw said he'd be willing to fight someone from the top five if he cannot get an immediate title shot.