Cory Sandhagen shares brutally honest opinion to Islam Makhachev being ranked number 1 on the pound-for-pound rankings (Exclusive)
Cory Sandhagen did not seem too impressed with Islam Makhachev securing the top spot in the UFC P4P rankings.
Before UFC 294, Jon Jones held the top spot in the UFC P4P rankings after just one fight that saw him become the UFC heavyweight champion. However, Islam Makhachev's knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski has shot him up to the first place in the rankings.
UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen spoke to James Lynch in an exclusive interview for Sportskeeda and had just one thing to say about the rankings:
"Yeah all of the goat talk, the pound-for-pound stuff, I don't really care to be honest."
'The Sandman' last fought in August this year against Rob Font. He was initially set to fight Umar Nurmagomedov in the August 5 main event. However, Nurmagomedov pulled out of the fight due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by Font.
Cory Sandhagen is currently the #4 ranked bantamweight and is looking for a title shot. He previously fought for the interim title against Petr Yan but was unsuccessful. With three back-to-back wins, he will look to challenge for the title soon.
Take a look at the video (Quotes from 16:33 onwards):
Cory Sandhagen gives his thoughts on the Sean O'Malley vs Chito Vera
Cory Sandhagen believes he deserves the title shot next, but he will have to wait in line as Chito Vera has been given that opportunity. Vera will face current champion Sean O'Malley for the title on March 9, 2024. The location for the fight has not yet been decided. In the same interview with James Lynch, Sandhagen gave his thoughts on the fight:
(Quotes from 10:08 onwards)
"Honestly, I think it's a lot tougher match for Sean than what people probably think. I think that what Sean does really well won't work as good against Chito. Sean keeps distance really well and he snipes people when they make mistakes. Chito's very good at not getting hit clean, like very good at wearing a punch and I think that's gonna pose a lot of problems."
Take a look at the face off:
Sandhagen has also heard that Sean O'Malley gets injured very easily and when fighting someone as durable as Chito Vera, he will face problems. From what Sandhagen said, it seems he is favoring Vera to win the fight because of his fighting style.