"I'm a really big Hasbulla fan" - Cory Sandhagen wants Hasbulla in his corner for UFC Vegas 32 fight against T.J. Dillashaw
Cory Sandhagen has suggested that he wants Hasbulla Magomedov in his corner for his UFC Vegas 32 fight against T.J. Dillashaw.
Speaking to James Lynch, Sandhagen jestingly revealed that he’d like to have Hasbulla as part of his corner. Sandhagen stated:
“I was thinking, man, I’m a really big Hasbulla fan. I kind of want to have Hasbulla in the corner.”
Lynch then chimed in with his opinion that Hasbulla’s content is one of the good things on Instagram. Sandhagen agreed and added, “Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that would be cool; to have that guy in the corner.”
James Lynch proceeded to ask Cory Sandhagen if he had reached out to Hasbulla to be a part of his corner for the upcoming fight against T.J. Dillashaw. Lynch also noted that COVID-related travel restrictions could be a problem in bringing the Russian social media sensation to the US for the fight. Sandhagen replied by saying:
“I don’t think I will, realistically, only because I don’t see fighting as like a joke, you know. I think that’d be very jokey. So, to have that actually be the case, I think, would probably distract me in the back.”
Lynch enquired whether Cory Sandhagen had spoken to Hasbulla or Hasbulla’s team, or whether Sandhagen is just watching them from afar. ‘The Sandman’ responded by stating:
“Oh, no. I just love watching all of the videos on that guy.”
Moreover, upon being asked why Hasbulla’s opponent, Abdu Rozik, doesn’t get as much attention as Hasbulla, Sandhagen noted:
“Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know. Some people just have the ‘It’ factor, you know. He (Hasbulla) has the ‘It’ factor.” (*Video courtesy: James Lynch; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Watch the interview below:
Hasbulla is holding out for greater pay, while Cory Sandhagen aims to earn a shot at UFC gold
According to Hasbulla’s close friend and manager, Asxab Tamaev, an MMA fighter from Chechnya, Hasbulla was offered 7 million rubles to fight Abdu Rozik. Tamaev claimed that Hasbulla recently turned down the offer of 7 million rubles and is holding out for an offer of 20 million rubles.
An MMA fight between Hasbulla and Rozik was said to be taking place earlier this year, but the matchup between the two social media stars is yet to come to fruition.
Meanwhile, Cory Sandhagen is scheduled to fight T.J. Dillashaw in a five-round bantamweight bout that’ll headline UFC Vegas 32. A win over Dillashaw would likely earn Sandhagen a shot at the UFC bantamweight title.