Cory Sandhagen pens classy first statement after decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Abu Dhabi

Cory Sandhagen gracefully accepted his UFC Abu Dhabi defeat against Umar Nurmagomedov and promised to come back stronger. On Aug. 3, Nurmagomedov defeated Sandhagen in a potential bantamweight title eliminator bout to extend his professional MMA record to a perfect 18-0.

No.2-ranked Sandhagen, who is a striker by trade, showed competitiveness against Nurmagomedov's elite wrestling. Meanwhile, the Dagestan native had a lot of success in striking despite a perceived disadvantage in that area. Nurmagomedov won the majority of the closely contested rounds, walking away with a unanimous decision victory (50-45, 49-46 X 2).

Sandhagen, who has always been gracious in defeat, recently took to Instagram and penned a classy first statement:

"Tough sport. Umar is really world-class - it was an honor to fight one of the world’s best. Congrats to him. Gonna keep getting better like I always do. Thanks for the support. I love you guys. PEACE."

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That said, Sandhagen did not allow the loss to dampen his spirit. Speaking in the octagon interview, the 32-year-old Colorado native said that Nurmagomedov has the potential to win the UFC bantamweight title and the duo will probably meet again in a title fight at some point in the future:

"He was really good. I knew he was going to be really good. He beat me tonight, there's nothing more I can say about it. Congrats to him, man. He's a very, very, very good fighter. I'll see him again. He's going to fight for the belt next and probably win. And then, I'll catch up to him and probably fight him again."

Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments below:

Sandhagen has been hailed as one of the most versatile fighters in the UFC bantamweight division. After starting his UFC career as a striker, 'Sandman' has shown improved grappling after losses against Aljamain Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw. His dominant wins over Marlon Vera and Rob Font stand testimony to the same. The loss against Nurmagomedov snapped his three-fight win streak.