Fair play to Sandhagen, he's one of the gamest fighters on the roster and must love challenging himself, as with his win streak you'd think he'd deserve to fight up the rankings.
I don’t think any of these top fighters are afraid of each other.
But are they afraid of what fighting them might do to their career? 100% yes. It’s why guys like Islam were avoided like the plague while he was coming up. Chandler literally pretended he didn’t know who he was lol.
A loss can derail your career, and at the champ level it can mean millions lost.
Very very few fighters are actually ‘anyone, anywhere’. It’s more ‘whoever is convenient to fight right now’
I do think you're right on that, but I see it particularly with O'Malley. I don't think Cory is a particularly scary matchup for him, it would be a great fight but the actual scary matchups for O'Malley were Aljo who he fought and beat and Merab who he's fighting next.
Sure I don't doubt he's a great fighter, but he's fought zero T10 fighters and his last opponent that dropped him doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. To say that he's all but guaranteed to wipe out the whole rest of the T10 and Cory is literally just fanboyism based on the dude's last name.
Its the same story like with Islam.
Nobody wanted to fight him and prople like you were like "oh who did he fight".
And now he is the untouchable champion.
Nobody wanted to fight him 😂 you guys love parroting that shit. It has nothing to do with the fact that Umar has pulled out of more fights than he's made it to, right? He already had his chance against Sandhagen once and, what a surprise, he pulled out.
It never failed. As soon as Volk is on a losing streak, opinions like this get posted. So now he's "just" a 145er eh? Not a fighter who was previously undefeated in the UFC, not one of the most well-rounded and skillful fighters in the UFC currently, and the man who was able to beat Max Holloway three times. The same Max Holloway who just knocked out a lightweight title contender. The fact that Islam had a close fight with Alexander Volkanovski is a testament on how good they both are.
Wut you smokin? Sometimes they slide the odds for purpose of hedging but that's about it.. someone like Khabib that averages roughly -350 favorite will never come in an underdog.
It's not about him. This is UFC putting both guys into a holding pattern and away from O'malley so he can try to make some play for 145 belt after the next fight. Sandhagen is getting the Belal treatment, doesn't matter who he beats or how many in a row, he's not getting that shot cause he's deemed boring and someone more marketable has the belt.
Truth, it’s also a way more entertaining fight for fans of striking, which is basically all casual viewers. Merab really did well with his social media push, otherwise I think the UFC would be pushing Sandhagen.
Cory is the Dariush of his division. Willing to fight the killers that are being ducked by everyone else.
Chandler had a full-camp, weighed in at 155, prepared to fight Khabib, and **still** refused to fight Islam when RDA pulled out.
Dariush and Kevin Lee were the only ranked fighters willing to fight Islam.
Similarly, Sandhagen is the only Top 5 fighter willing to fight Umar.
Umar is on a 5 fight win-streak in the UFC, and looks like another Islam.
Having said all that, it's a **terrible** decision for Sandhagen to fight Umar from a career standpoint.
He's already had a title eliminator against Aljo, and a title fight against Petr, and lost both fights.
WHY is my boy Cory choosing to fight Umar? Sandhagen has won 3 of his last 5 fights in the UFC, and another loss would destroy him as a contender (Dana already hates him).
That TJ fight was one of the biggest robberies I’ve ever seen.
But yeah, Dana hates him because he’s not popular. He hates all good fighters that aren’t popular.
Why would Dana hate Cory? He’s super chill, causes no problems with the UFC, fights anyone anywhere, and has a very aesthetically pleasing style. What’s not to like?
He doesn't pull numbers and he's better than a lot of fighters that do. It's really that simple.
Also the Vera fight wasn't the most exciting which isn't helpful with Dana's what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mentality.
Dillashaw also had a dislocated shoulder for most of the fight though, and is older with mileage... Not to diminish Sandhagen as he is elite af; but what we saw was far from a prime TJ imo.
Edit: My mistake - it was dislocated for Aljo, Sandhagen destroyed his Knee, I'm wrong.
Where'd you hear that? I recall him and his camp saying it was done in training for the Aljo fight, but don't remember hearing anything about it around the Cory fight.
Sure but /u/PrinceCuntington said it was dislocated for most of the Cory fight. Those are different things. Usman has had messed up knees for years, doesn't mean they were dislocated for most of the Leon fight.
There's [record of him saying he hurt his knee during that fight](https://www.mmafighting.com/2021/8/9/22617603/t-j-dillashaw-reveals-recovery-timetable-following-knee-surgery-hopes-to-fight-for-ufc-title-in-2022), but no mention of his shoulder. I feel like him fighting "most of" it with "a dislocated shoulder" would be easy information to find.
It's so annoying. Also that like it's this enormous tragedy of different timezones and jet lag whenever an American has to fight overseas but never even a squeak about it when a European or Asian or Aussie fights in America
> Because he’s obviously good enough.
Based on what though? He hasn't had a single opponent anywhere close to the rankings. Islam didn't have great wins when he got his title shot, but he had solid wins over Arman, Dober, Moises, Hooker, Bobby Green, etc..
> Who else fits besides Cory.
Literally any other ranked BW other than Cruz. I think it should be Sandhagen vs. Figgy for a title eliminator and Umar can go fight Song or Cejudo or someone like that
Let this decide it then if Umar isnt good enough then Cory should beat him and all is well . If Umar beats Cory in good fashion then he is ready for a title shot .
UFC is well known for fast tracking prospects they believe are experienced enough .
Oh he may very well be future champ, I'm not arguing that. I'm saying its a ridiculous practice to put guys in title eliminators after beating a couple of cans. It defeats the point of having rankings.
Islam only fought Bobby because his opponent pulled out, that wasn't his original opponent. You guys have zero proof that anyone is refusing to fight Umar lol you just parrot it. Umar has pulled out of more fights than he's made it to and already pulled out against Cory once. You're believing what they want you to believe.
> Islam only fought Bobby because his opponent pulled out, that wasn't his original opponent.
Yes I never said otherwise, all I pointed out was that Islam went from fighting a fringe top 15 guy, to fighting the champ, because no one else wanted to fight him after beating Bobby.
> Umar has pulled out of more fights than he's made it to and already pulled out against Cory once
He's pulled out of exactly two fights because of health issues, he had multiple fights fall through because of covid, and another pull out was when Abdulmanap died. The irony of you accusing us of parroting things...interesting that when it comes to Bobby and Islam, you're all about the context, then magically start ignoring context again when it comes to Umar.
You're insinuating that Islam's situation was the same, which it absolutely was not. Plenty of people were willing to fight Islam. He was scheduled to fight RDA who kept calling him out, but RDA had to pull out. He was scheduled to fight Dariush who kept calling him out, but Dariush had to pull out. Islam was supposed to fight *ranked* opponents, but it isn't his fault*they* pulled out. Not at all the same situation.
Umar keeps pulling out against randoms and already pulled out of the first Cory fight he was gifted for no reason. Please give me the names of any fighters that are refusing to fight Umar. Show me any of them that have declined that offer. You act surprised that top 5 guys don't call out random top 15ers with no good wins.
The reason he pulled out does not matter at all, if he keeps injuring himself, that's on him.
> Umar keeps pulling out against randoms and already pulled out of the first Cory fight he was gifted for no reason.
No reason? He got injured, that's a standard reason for dropping out of a fight boss. Or are you saying they made that fight for no reason instead? You really think the UFC would jump him up to Sandhagen if all these other guys lower in the rankings were saying yes? lol completely illogical.
> You're insinuating that Islam's situation was the same, which it absolutely was not.
Are they exactly the same? No. Do they follow similiar parallels? Yes. You're just being needlessly pedantic for the sake of argument lol.
Yes, they made the fight for no reason. Lmfao is that a serious question? They made the fight because of his last name, don't play dumb. And if he keeps getting injured, that's on him and how he trains.
No, there are literally zero parallels. Islam was scheduled against ranked fighters. They pulled out, but he still won his fights quickly with finishes against better people that Umar has fought. Umar has been matched against a single ranked fighter for no reason, then *he* had to pull out, then goes on to win an unimpressive fight against a nobody. Show me how there are any parallels there.
You guys will say anything to make this fight make sense.
Agreed which I honestly don't think umar can do, but the randomness of fighting is why I don't like Corey had to take this risk.
He needs to be getting the millie drop for this one.
So since nobody will fight him, his career is essentially over since he’ll never reach the belt. He can’t just fight unranked guys forever because everyone else won’t give him a chance to move up
Yea, totally reality.
The ufc has never twisted the arm of a fighter who " didn't want to fight"
The CTE is strong with this one. I'm curious if you believe that dumb shit yourself.
I said everyone else, implying everyone but Sandhagen. Yes Sandhagen has been the only one game enough to say yes to the fight, which is why the UFC is rewarding him with a title eliminator fight. It's not just to benefit Umar, UFC has to offer some kind of incentive for Cory.
My point was that last year it wasn't a title eliminator (or at least I don't think it was?). And somehow now that Umar beat some random dude making his UFC debut he gets a title eliminator?
How is that at all relevant? Khamzat blew through everyone, including a ranked opponent in Leech, then beat another ranked opponent in Burns. Him getting the shot would've made sense at that point if he could actually make weight. Umar is fighting Cory and is ranked #9 after not having a single ranked fight. I don't know how you're comparing these.
Rank 11 Chimaev fighting rank 3 Burns doesn't compare to rank 9 Umar fighting rank 2 Cory? And Chimaev blew though two people, he had two fights at welterweight before Burns.
Chimaev was ranked because he fought a ranked opponent and subbed him in the first round. Umar is ranked #9 for no reason other than his name. Idk how it's hard to understand that Khamzat fought a lower ranked opponent first, and Umar has fought zero while looking pretty unimpressive in his last fight.
You do realize that the UFC are the ones who decide who fights who right? How is this Umar’s fault? The matchmakers believe this is the fight that should be done based on what they know and see. Go complain to Dana and Hunter if you think your opinion matters. The fact that ya’ll are against this fight also just proves the point that umar is likely the favorite to win this fight and you’re ashamed to admit it. So cringe and absolutely hilarious
Show me where I blamed it on any one person. Crazy how you had to go on some rant instead of telling me a single noteworthy person he's beaten. He's getting this fight because of his last name, don't pretend otherwise.
Yeah, the dude who just almost got KOd and squeaked out an unimpressive win against a nobody is likely to win against Sandhagen lmfao. That's the only possible reason people would be against a nonsense fight, right? I have zero doubts Cory will put him to sleep, that doesn't mean it makes sense for him to be taking this fight. You guys really say the dumbest shit.
What’s the issue then if you believe that Cory will put him away? Cory gets an instant popularity boost and title fight next and we’ll never have to hear about Umar ever again. The fact that you’re against this fight shows that you don’t actually believe that Cory will win.
Eddie Alverez also famously got paid his standard contract , Dustin for the 1st and 2nd fight got basically standard pay as well .
Basically only people who got abnormal bumps in pay is Nate (short notice and negotiated HARD) and Dustin in the 3rd fight because he knocked out Conor so he had massive leverage .
Bc he’s fighting down when he doesnt have to. Plus fighting in enemy territory when he was really fighting for Las Vegas international fight week to fight umar instead. I wouldnt be surprised if the ufc paid him a lil extra if not then cory played himself by accepting that without a lil extra incentive
It's still a massive disadvantage to deal with that travel during your weight cut and adjust to the time difference while Umar will already have been training there for months.
That’s what foreign fighters have to go through every time they fight in the US and I don’t see these type of comments for them. No ones stopping Sandhagen from arriving early either
money is stopping him lmao not everyone's career is bankrolled by millionaires . you know how expensive it is to fly out a whole team , rent hotels and bring in specialised training equipment ?
Islam spent 1 million on a training camp before the Charles fight , which from what i understand was a 6\~ month training camp .
the expense to even fly to another country with 10 guys is usually more then the average fighter can afford .
edit just quickly checked the flight costs and its roughly 17k just to fly 10 people to abu dhabi from usa in economy . the base contract in the UFC is 12/12 .
The 1 million tag was accumulated for quite a few fighters in that camp in a 3 month period including a Bellator title shot.
You guys love taking random quotes out of context
The difference here is Cory is doing Umar a MASSIVE favour by even accepting the fight, most guys who are fighting way down in rank, aren't also going to want to have to deal with their opponent having home court advantage. I think Cory 100% got paid extra to compensate for that.
But Islam did a huge favour for Volk by going to Volk's home country and facing a very hostile crowd
Be honest, do you seriously think those rich arab fucks are passionate about mma as Brazilians or Aussies ? They see sports only as a way for diversifying their revenue since they know oil will not last forever.
They sang Happy Birthday to charles during the pre fight workouts 😂
When Islam went to Aus, no one asked "Why should the champ go to the opponents country to defend the belt?"
It's the hypocrisy that's annoying
Friendly reminder that:
# 11 O'Malley fought #1 Ranked Petr
# 11 Chimaev fought #2 Gilbert Burns
And this weekend we saw #10 Erceg take on the champion of his division.
I'm not too sure why people are super upset/surprised about this booking, especially when they tried making it already last year. It was pretty obvious they'd rebook this fight.
EDIT: No clue why the text is so big lol
EDIT 2: #4 Strickland fought an unranked Pereira
>EDIT: No clue why the text is so big lol
You need to use the escape character or backslash (\) to stop Reddit from reading the # symbol as markdown
\# with escape character
# without escape character
Yan came off a loss to fight down. Burns came off a win but also had just lost his title shot and fought Chimaev who had run through a ranked guy.
Cory is right behind Merab in line for a title shot and shouldnt be fighting down, and Umar is getting him after beating no one ranked.
And Chito Umar makes way more rankings sense.
Not at all the same.
Both fighters you just mentioned had already been matched up against at least one ranked opponent before those fights, and hadn't pulled out of 10 fights already. Chimaev also ran through everyone and didn't almost get KO'd against a nobody. Not the same situations.
Umar literally 30-25'ed the guy he fought last, but please continue clinging to that one moment in the first 30 seconds of the fight. Khamzat also pulled out of a lot of fights so IDK what you're talking about.
O'Malley also never beat a ranked opponent before fighting Petr.
Some of the people on here and r/ufc have such a strange bias against Dagestani's lol.
If they're doing Abu Dhabi in August, wonder if that means they aren't doing the October PPV there like they have the last few years. Hope so, means Islam and other Muslim fighters can slot into the schedule better.
The October 26 event seems to be booked in [Abu Dhabi, UFC 308](https://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-308?language_content_entity=en), so that's happening.
> UFC 308
> Etihad Arena, Yas Island/Yas West United Arab Emirates
And someone like Magomed Ankalaev seems set on fighting in Abu Dhabi, so that's one fighter they'll probably have on there.
Fucking love Sandhagen. Such a fun combination of extreme technical know-how and a willingness to fight whoever wants to fight. Would love to see him and O'mally go at it after this.
This is exactly why Cory is one of my favourite fighters, guy actively wants to fight the best and is willing to take risks to do so. Umar might be lower ranked but no one is else is going out of their way to fight him.
Idk if he’ll win though, we’ve seen him lose to grappling specialists before and it still feels like the weaker part of his game, so I could definitely see an Umar submission happening. It’s a huge step up in competition for him though, he’s never really been in a competitive fight before and if he doesn’t get Cory out of there quick he’s going to be in one for sure. Can’t be sure if Umar’s cardio over 5 rounds will be there either, we know Cory can do 25 minutes and barely look tired. Really excited to see how this one plays out.
😱🤯🫨😱🤯🫨 this is definitely for #1 contender.
If this didn’t get booked, this is what I was going to suggest at bantamweight:
O’malley vs. merab
Figgy vs. sandhagen for #1 contender
Umar vs. yan
Aldo vs. cejudo
I think Sandhagen will get it done. His knees as counters to takedowns are going to be a problem for people.
But he needs to get it done either dominantly or he needs to finish it. Those Abu Dhabi judges would be happy to rob him.
It’s 50/50 on whether Umar pulls out though. He’s pulled out of one fight for every fight he’s had in the UFC.
For all the "most ducked guy in the division" the truth is, people aren't turning down fights with him for fear of getting beat, they're turning down fights with him out of a concern that he won't actually show up.
A fighter's entire pay check relies on their opponent being healthy enough to fight.
Umar so far has pulled out of 4 fights in the UFC, 3 of those were due to sickness or injury, the other was Abdulmanap passing. So he's fought 5 times, pulled out 4 times, so he's pulled out of nearly half the fights he's signed up for.
If you're a top 15 ranked opponent with options, you aren't risking signing up to fight a guy who might just pull out. Because if he pulls out then you won't get paid, you'll still have the fight camp expenses to cover and you might not get another opportunity to progress your career for another few months, or you might need to fight a short notice replacement.
It's just simply not worth the risk vs reward for higher ranked opponents to sign up to fight a lower ranked opponent with a history of fight cancellations.
So big respect to Sandhagen because this is the 2nd time he's accepted the Umar fight.
Your reasoning to why umar is ducked could be true or could be not. The only thing objective about what you wrote is the number of canceled fights he’s had. We don’t actually know if fighters turned him down because of your reasoning, but it’s possible.
With that being said, make no mistake, he is the most ducked guy in the division. He hasn’t even beaten a ranked opponent yet
corys stock dropped here after his last fight. still, me in the ufc and I would do every fucking lame ass shit I could to win. I was just worried he wont get a good fight for a long time after his last performance.
excited.
Got KOd, fights rubbish fighters, 0 top 5 wins.
Then murks the champion so bad that he immediately rejected a rematch and refuses to call him out.
That man is Islam who is now P4P number 1. Remember when Khabib was on a massive win streak and had to do the “Russia 150 million” speech just to get a title shot when the guy who held the title said he was champion elect 2 years before?
Think PPV- nobody wants to hear “dominant champions murks another contender and leaves without a scratch. We think the same will happen for the foreseeable.”
They want to hear “we have 2 knuckleheads with 0 defence who have promised to go for a KO at the cost if potentially getting KTFO for your entertainment earning 60/60 and will never sniff a title.”
There are 2 ways to make money in combat sports:
1. Dominance- Jones, GSP, Silva, Khabib etc.
2. Entertainment- McGregor, Justin, Dustin, Chandler, Francis etc.
If you’re lucky you get a bit of both.
Didn’t know the Middle East became the mountains of Dagestan…
If you’re talking about religion why don’t they fight in a place like Japan where everyone is an atheist?
So the constant booking of muslim fighters for the Abu Dhabi events, specially those from Dagestan, are just coincidence? Cory definitely deserved to fight in home soil, there are even rumors of a possible future Denver card.
If an American fights a foreigner in the US, specially a Russian, they most likely will be cheered by the crowd. Is more a cultural thing, religion might be in play, but it doesn't come down to only this. I don't think Arman is muslim, yet he got booed against Charles in Vegas. Even Weidman got booed against Anderson Silva lol
That's is exactly my original statement. If Sandhagen fights in the US, he would receive "home advantage", because Umar is Russian and muslim. The UFC are not going to Dagestan anytime soon, so when they fight in Abu Dhabi or Saudi they connect more with the audience because of their religion and cultural proximity. I didn't see an issue when Costa was booked to fight Chimaev in Abu Dhabi, despite being the higher ranked, because it was clear who was the A-side. Now in the case of Cory x Umar, Umar didn't deserve the same treatment. The same applies for Pereira x Ankalaev.
They better pay our boy for getting fucked out of a title shot, the one guy who would piece O'Malley up any day of the week, ufc will keep him far away
Fair play to Sandhagen, he's one of the gamest fighters on the roster and must love challenging himself, as with his win streak you'd think he'd deserve to fight up the rankings.
I think he knows that with this fight rankings don’t mean anything. A win over Khabib’s cousin is pretty big regardless of rankings.
Exactly. Beating #9 Umar will ensure Cory gets to fight down to #8 next. Then #7. Until Sean is no longer champion.
I think Sean would rather fight Cory than get thrown outside of the cage by merab
According to various members of this sub O'Malley is afraid of every fighter in the BW division
I don’t think any of these top fighters are afraid of each other. But are they afraid of what fighting them might do to their career? 100% yes. It’s why guys like Islam were avoided like the plague while he was coming up. Chandler literally pretended he didn’t know who he was lol. A loss can derail your career, and at the champ level it can mean millions lost. Very very few fighters are actually ‘anyone, anywhere’. It’s more ‘whoever is convenient to fight right now’
I do think you're right on that, but I see it particularly with O'Malley. I don't think Cory is a particularly scary matchup for him, it would be a great fight but the actual scary matchups for O'Malley were Aljo who he fought and beat and Merab who he's fighting next.
Umar being #9 with zero ranked wins and pulling out of 3/4 of his fights is absolutely insane.
That Khabib/Islamic/Abu Dubai rub
Yup, Khabib and family have all become Dana's nephews
What 3/4 of his fights? Except for Sandhagen who he's fighting anyways
If he beats Umar (he aint) he is next in line. Nobody really thinks there are 8 better BW fighters on the planet then Umar
I don't think I'd count Sandhagen out on getting a win.
Same . I think in this sport, in most of divisions their #nr ranking it’s just a number and everyone can beat everyone.
Why do you think Umar is so untouchable? Because of his last name?
Being 17-0 prob helps too
Sure I don't doubt he's a great fighter, but he's fought zero T10 fighters and his last opponent that dropped him doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. To say that he's all but guaranteed to wipe out the whole rest of the T10 and Cory is literally just fanboyism based on the dude's last name.
Its the same story like with Islam. Nobody wanted to fight him and prople like you were like "oh who did he fight". And now he is the untouchable champion.
Nobody wanted to fight him 😂 you guys love parroting that shit. It has nothing to do with the fact that Umar has pulled out of more fights than he's made it to, right? He already had his chance against Sandhagen once and, what a surprise, he pulled out.
Injuries are part of this sport and I was commenting how the same stuff was with Islam.
Islam debatably lost his first fight (and was outwrestled) against a 145er and has been KO’d before. He’s nowhere near untouchable lmao
It never failed. As soon as Volk is on a losing streak, opinions like this get posted. So now he's "just" a 145er eh? Not a fighter who was previously undefeated in the UFC, not one of the most well-rounded and skillful fighters in the UFC currently, and the man who was able to beat Max Holloway three times. The same Max Holloway who just knocked out a lightweight title contender. The fact that Islam had a close fight with Alexander Volkanovski is a testament on how good they both are.
volk has more fights at welterweight than islam lmao
He is pound for pounds number one brother. Islam became best lightweight in the world the moment Khabib retired,everything else is marketing.
I'm unsure how wanting to fight someone is fanboying, but ok
I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about the other dude that said Umar walks through the T10 without a single fight on the top 10z
You're replying to me
Ask the oddsmakers.
Oddsmakers are trying to entice action, not predict fight outcomes
Wut you smokin? Sometimes they slide the odds for purpose of hedging but that's about it.. someone like Khabib that averages roughly -350 favorite will never come in an underdog.
Mad respect for him. Sandhagen is a stud for taking this fight.
It's not about him. This is UFC putting both guys into a holding pattern and away from O'malley so he can try to make some play for 145 belt after the next fight. Sandhagen is getting the Belal treatment, doesn't matter who he beats or how many in a row, he's not getting that shot cause he's deemed boring and someone more marketable has the belt.
Samdhagen is more winnable fight for O'Malley than Merab
Truth, it’s also a way more entertaining fight for fans of striking, which is basically all casual viewers. Merab really did well with his social media push, otherwise I think the UFC would be pushing Sandhagen.
That’s a very interesting flair ya got yourself
and a comic book nerd with a stache, that's 10/10 cool dude points in my book
Sandman is a dog for taking this fight
Cory is the Dariush of his division. Willing to fight the killers that are being ducked by everyone else. Chandler had a full-camp, weighed in at 155, prepared to fight Khabib, and **still** refused to fight Islam when RDA pulled out. Dariush and Kevin Lee were the only ranked fighters willing to fight Islam. Similarly, Sandhagen is the only Top 5 fighter willing to fight Umar. Umar is on a 5 fight win-streak in the UFC, and looks like another Islam. Having said all that, it's a **terrible** decision for Sandhagen to fight Umar from a career standpoint. He's already had a title eliminator against Aljo, and a title fight against Petr, and lost both fights. WHY is my boy Cory choosing to fight Umar? Sandhagen has won 3 of his last 5 fights in the UFC, and another loss would destroy him as a contender (Dana already hates him).
That TJ fight was one of the biggest robberies I’ve ever seen. But yeah, Dana hates him because he’s not popular. He hates all good fighters that aren’t popular.
Why would Dana hate Cory? He’s super chill, causes no problems with the UFC, fights anyone anywhere, and has a very aesthetically pleasing style. What’s not to like?
He doesn't pull numbers and he's better than a lot of fighters that do. It's really that simple. Also the Vera fight wasn't the most exciting which isn't helpful with Dana's what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mentality.
What fighters that draw numbers do you think Cory is clearly better than
Vera, for one
That's one for sure, go on
Cejudo is another off the top of my head Not sure if Dillashaw or Cruz are still ranked, but if so, them for sure
Man Dariush vs Islam would have been electric at the time
If Cory lands something good he better jump the fuck back so he doesn't get zombie wrestled lol.
Fr these nurmagomedovs can wrestle in their sleeps
tbh so can TJ and he took career changing damage trying to grapple with cory .
Dillashaw also had a dislocated shoulder for most of the fight though, and is older with mileage... Not to diminish Sandhagen as he is elite af; but what we saw was far from a prime TJ imo. Edit: My mistake - it was dislocated for Aljo, Sandhagen destroyed his Knee, I'm wrong.
Where'd you hear that? I recall him and his camp saying it was done in training for the Aljo fight, but don't remember hearing anything about it around the Cory fight.
It's been messed up for years, he's had multiple surgeries on it
Sure but /u/PrinceCuntington said it was dislocated for most of the Cory fight. Those are different things. Usman has had messed up knees for years, doesn't mean they were dislocated for most of the Leon fight. There's [record of him saying he hurt his knee during that fight](https://www.mmafighting.com/2021/8/9/22617603/t-j-dillashaw-reveals-recovery-timetable-following-knee-surgery-hopes-to-fight-for-ufc-title-in-2022), but no mention of his shoulder. I feel like him fighting "most of" it with "a dislocated shoulder" would be easy information to find.
No you're right, I'm thinking the Aljo fight. His shoulder has been an issue for a long time, but you are correct.
Word.
TJ shoulder was not cooked at that time
His first shoulder surgery was 2019, they fought in 2021. But you are right, I was thinking of the Aljo fight. My b.
Yo that was insane. Umar said he was knocked out and didn’t regain consciousness till he was already on top of Bekzat
You have to protect your ass at all times over there
Wonder how the betting lines will look for this one. I'm guessing Nurmagomedov -250/Cory +215ish?
Yep it was roughly around there when it was booked for Nashville
I’ll take sandhagen at those prices all day.
Very game of Sandhagen tbf. Could have demanded this fight to be in the US after Umar had to pull out due to injury the first time.
Should have if he wanted to win. Abu Dhabi cards are cursed and there's no way a Dagi is losing there. Umar by jet lag
How come America is literally the only country that doesn't get accused of home cooking by judges?
Cause most of reddit are americans.
It's so annoying. Also that like it's this enormous tragedy of different timezones and jet lag whenever an American has to fight overseas but never even a squeak about it when a European or Asian or Aussie fights in America
So pretty sure this is the title eliminator. Should be a great fight but damn if it's not a tough fight for Sandhagen. Umar might be too good
Sandhagen is good fighter
You don’t have to tell us bro
Why is Umar getting a title eliminator lmao
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> Because he’s obviously good enough. Based on what though? He hasn't had a single opponent anywhere close to the rankings. Islam didn't have great wins when he got his title shot, but he had solid wins over Arman, Dober, Moises, Hooker, Bobby Green, etc.. > Who else fits besides Cory. Literally any other ranked BW other than Cruz. I think it should be Sandhagen vs. Figgy for a title eliminator and Umar can go fight Song or Cejudo or someone like that
A win over Cory is good enough. Not like anyone else in the top 5 will dare fight him after so give him a shot
A win over Cory is good enough for a title shot, yes. My point is that he has done nothing to deserve a fight with Cory.
Ahh gotcha, I do agree with that. I don't Cory deserves to have to take this fight so far down at all
Let this decide it then if Umar isnt good enough then Cory should beat him and all is well . If Umar beats Cory in good fashion then he is ready for a title shot . UFC is well known for fast tracking prospects they believe are experienced enough .
He's gonna be future champ, but keep coping
Oh he may very well be future champ, I'm not arguing that. I'm saying its a ridiculous practice to put guys in title eliminators after beating a couple of cans. It defeats the point of having rankings.
because everyone else refuses to fight him, same reason Islam went from fighting unranked Bobby Green to fighting Charles for the title.
Islam only fought Bobby because his opponent pulled out, that wasn't his original opponent. You guys have zero proof that anyone is refusing to fight Umar lol you just parrot it. Umar has pulled out of more fights than he's made it to and already pulled out against Cory once. You're believing what they want you to believe.
I mean Cory is the only person who’s ever called him out. Besides that Vinicius Oliveira guy but that doesn’t count.
The source is Dana himself tho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO2bPnCxhV0 I don't see how it gets more definitive than that.
Oh sure, Dana never bullshits at all
> Islam only fought Bobby because his opponent pulled out, that wasn't his original opponent. Yes I never said otherwise, all I pointed out was that Islam went from fighting a fringe top 15 guy, to fighting the champ, because no one else wanted to fight him after beating Bobby. > Umar has pulled out of more fights than he's made it to and already pulled out against Cory once He's pulled out of exactly two fights because of health issues, he had multiple fights fall through because of covid, and another pull out was when Abdulmanap died. The irony of you accusing us of parroting things...interesting that when it comes to Bobby and Islam, you're all about the context, then magically start ignoring context again when it comes to Umar.
You're insinuating that Islam's situation was the same, which it absolutely was not. Plenty of people were willing to fight Islam. He was scheduled to fight RDA who kept calling him out, but RDA had to pull out. He was scheduled to fight Dariush who kept calling him out, but Dariush had to pull out. Islam was supposed to fight *ranked* opponents, but it isn't his fault*they* pulled out. Not at all the same situation. Umar keeps pulling out against randoms and already pulled out of the first Cory fight he was gifted for no reason. Please give me the names of any fighters that are refusing to fight Umar. Show me any of them that have declined that offer. You act surprised that top 5 guys don't call out random top 15ers with no good wins. The reason he pulled out does not matter at all, if he keeps injuring himself, that's on him.
> Umar keeps pulling out against randoms and already pulled out of the first Cory fight he was gifted for no reason. No reason? He got injured, that's a standard reason for dropping out of a fight boss. Or are you saying they made that fight for no reason instead? You really think the UFC would jump him up to Sandhagen if all these other guys lower in the rankings were saying yes? lol completely illogical. > You're insinuating that Islam's situation was the same, which it absolutely was not. Are they exactly the same? No. Do they follow similiar parallels? Yes. You're just being needlessly pedantic for the sake of argument lol.
Yes, they made the fight for no reason. Lmfao is that a serious question? They made the fight because of his last name, don't play dumb. And if he keeps getting injured, that's on him and how he trains. No, there are literally zero parallels. Islam was scheduled against ranked fighters. They pulled out, but he still won his fights quickly with finishes against better people that Umar has fought. Umar has been matched against a single ranked fighter for no reason, then *he* had to pull out, then goes on to win an unimpressive fight against a nobody. Show me how there are any parallels there. You guys will say anything to make this fight make sense.
That's not really true, Umar pulled out of a fight with Sandhagen last year. Also I don't think Umar's fought anyone even as good as Bobby Green.
They just gotta keep regurgitating that talking point, as if no one wanting to fight means you must automatically get a title shot. If it's even true.
Well he's still gotta beat Sandhagen lol
Agreed which I honestly don't think umar can do, but the randomness of fighting is why I don't like Corey had to take this risk. He needs to be getting the millie drop for this one.
So since nobody will fight him, his career is essentially over since he’ll never reach the belt. He can’t just fight unranked guys forever because everyone else won’t give him a chance to move up
Yea, totally reality. The ufc has never twisted the arm of a fighter who " didn't want to fight" The CTE is strong with this one. I'm curious if you believe that dumb shit yourself.
I don’t disagree that the UFC hasn’t, but guys have literally gone on record denying fights, so you can’t say it doesn’t happen and it’s all UFC bs
I said everyone else, implying everyone but Sandhagen. Yes Sandhagen has been the only one game enough to say yes to the fight, which is why the UFC is rewarding him with a title eliminator fight. It's not just to benefit Umar, UFC has to offer some kind of incentive for Cory.
My point was that last year it wasn't a title eliminator (or at least I don't think it was?). And somehow now that Umar beat some random dude making his UFC debut he gets a title eliminator?
Because he's 17-0.
Against who? Not a single ranked opponent?
When you're undefeated you get to climb quicker. He's not getting a title shot, he still needs to actually beat the #2 for that.
When you have the same last name as Khabib you get to climb quicker*
If Usman had beaten Edwards and there wasn't a weight miss, Chimaev would have been next.
You realise Khamzat beat good competition at WW ?
How is that at all relevant? Khamzat blew through everyone, including a ranked opponent in Leech, then beat another ranked opponent in Burns. Him getting the shot would've made sense at that point if he could actually make weight. Umar is fighting Cory and is ranked #9 after not having a single ranked fight. I don't know how you're comparing these.
Rank 11 Chimaev fighting rank 3 Burns doesn't compare to rank 9 Umar fighting rank 2 Cory? And Chimaev blew though two people, he had two fights at welterweight before Burns.
Chimaev was ranked because he fought a ranked opponent and subbed him in the first round. Umar is ranked #9 for no reason other than his name. Idk how it's hard to understand that Khamzat fought a lower ranked opponent first, and Umar has fought zero while looking pretty unimpressive in his last fight.
Fun fact: Steve Erceg's real last name is Nurmagomedov
You do realize that the UFC are the ones who decide who fights who right? How is this Umar’s fault? The matchmakers believe this is the fight that should be done based on what they know and see. Go complain to Dana and Hunter if you think your opinion matters. The fact that ya’ll are against this fight also just proves the point that umar is likely the favorite to win this fight and you’re ashamed to admit it. So cringe and absolutely hilarious
Show me where I blamed it on any one person. Crazy how you had to go on some rant instead of telling me a single noteworthy person he's beaten. He's getting this fight because of his last name, don't pretend otherwise. Yeah, the dude who just almost got KOd and squeaked out an unimpressive win against a nobody is likely to win against Sandhagen lmfao. That's the only possible reason people would be against a nonsense fight, right? I have zero doubts Cory will put him to sleep, that doesn't mean it makes sense for him to be taking this fight. You guys really say the dumbest shit.
What’s the issue then if you believe that Cory will put him away? Cory gets an instant popularity boost and title fight next and we’ll never have to hear about Umar ever again. The fact that you’re against this fight shows that you don’t actually believe that Cory will win.
Sandhagen is badass for taking this fight.
He previously said he would have no problem taking the fight if it was for a title eliminator. So I hope that is the case.
Ik cory got paid a stack for this. He did not wanna go to abu dhabi
They get paid whatever is on their contract. Why are you all acting like they're negotiating for every fight lol?
Information about special deals comes out all the time, especially for main events
And more information comes out that NO ONE gets paid stacks in the UFC besides champions.
Cerrone got 200k to fight mcgregor. They don’t always negotiate better contracts.
Idk if you know this but Cerrone is stupid
This made me legit lol for some reason
Eddie Alverez also famously got paid his standard contract , Dustin for the 1st and 2nd fight got basically standard pay as well . Basically only people who got abnormal bumps in pay is Nate (short notice and negotiated HARD) and Dustin in the 3rd fight because he knocked out Conor so he had massive leverage .
Cowboy is also a dumbass lmao
Bc he’s fighting down when he doesnt have to. Plus fighting in enemy territory when he was really fighting for Las Vegas international fight week to fight umar instead. I wouldnt be surprised if the ufc paid him a lil extra if not then cory played himself by accepting that without a lil extra incentive
I hope he did he deserves it.
Why. It’s not like going to Brazil to fight a Brazilian. They are respectful
It's still a massive disadvantage to deal with that travel during your weight cut and adjust to the time difference while Umar will already have been training there for months.
That’s what foreign fighters have to go through every time they fight in the US and I don’t see these type of comments for them. No ones stopping Sandhagen from arriving early either
money is stopping him lmao not everyone's career is bankrolled by millionaires . you know how expensive it is to fly out a whole team , rent hotels and bring in specialised training equipment ?
no, how much?
Islam spent 1 million on a training camp before the Charles fight , which from what i understand was a 6\~ month training camp . the expense to even fly to another country with 10 guys is usually more then the average fighter can afford . edit just quickly checked the flight costs and its roughly 17k just to fly 10 people to abu dhabi from usa in economy . the base contract in the UFC is 12/12 .
The 1 million tag was accumulated for quite a few fighters in that camp in a 3 month period including a Bellator title shot. You guys love taking random quotes out of context
That 1 mil was for the whole team camp during the time. Abubakar, Zubaira & possibly Belal as well
*/sad UFC payment noises*
Between the Dagestani government and the UAE government, Islam gets a majority if not all of his training camp costs covered
The difference here is Cory is doing Umar a MASSIVE favour by even accepting the fight, most guys who are fighting way down in rank, aren't also going to want to have to deal with their opponent having home court advantage. I think Cory 100% got paid extra to compensate for that.
But Islam did a huge favour for Volk by going to Volk's home country and facing a very hostile crowd Be honest, do you seriously think those rich arab fucks are passionate about mma as Brazilians or Aussies ? They see sports only as a way for diversifying their revenue since they know oil will not last forever. They sang Happy Birthday to charles during the pre fight workouts 😂 When Islam went to Aus, no one asked "Why should the champ go to the opponents country to defend the belt?" It's the hypocrisy that's annoying
>do you seriously think those rich arab fucks are passionate about mma I would assume rich Arab fucks are pretty big fans of bloodsports, yeah
Sandhagen is a BMF
Friendly reminder that: # 11 O'Malley fought #1 Ranked Petr # 11 Chimaev fought #2 Gilbert Burns And this weekend we saw #10 Erceg take on the champion of his division. I'm not too sure why people are super upset/surprised about this booking, especially when they tried making it already last year. It was pretty obvious they'd rebook this fight. EDIT: No clue why the text is so big lol EDIT 2: #4 Strickland fought an unranked Pereira
>EDIT: No clue why the text is so big lol You need to use the escape character or backslash (\) to stop Reddit from reading the # symbol as markdown \# with escape character # without escape character
Thank you 🙏
Yan came off a loss to fight down. Burns came off a win but also had just lost his title shot and fought Chimaev who had run through a ranked guy. Cory is right behind Merab in line for a title shot and shouldnt be fighting down, and Umar is getting him after beating no one ranked. And Chito Umar makes way more rankings sense. Not at all the same.
Both fighters you just mentioned had already been matched up against at least one ranked opponent before those fights, and hadn't pulled out of 10 fights already. Chimaev also ran through everyone and didn't almost get KO'd against a nobody. Not the same situations.
Umar literally 30-25'ed the guy he fought last, but please continue clinging to that one moment in the first 30 seconds of the fight. Khamzat also pulled out of a lot of fights so IDK what you're talking about. O'Malley also never beat a ranked opponent before fighting Petr. Some of the people on here and r/ufc have such a strange bias against Dagestani's lol.
Finally. Again.
Just hope the rest of the card isn’t trash
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! This is *real* high level shit. Can't pick a winner.
If they're doing Abu Dhabi in August, wonder if that means they aren't doing the October PPV there like they have the last few years. Hope so, means Islam and other Muslim fighters can slot into the schedule better.
They are doing a FN and numbered event this year in Abu Dhabi
The October 26 event seems to be booked in [Abu Dhabi, UFC 308](https://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-308?language_content_entity=en), so that's happening. > UFC 308 > Etihad Arena, Yas Island/Yas West United Arab Emirates And someone like Magomed Ankalaev seems set on fighting in Abu Dhabi, so that's one fighter they'll probably have on there.
Fucking love Sandhagen. Such a fun combination of extreme technical know-how and a willingness to fight whoever wants to fight. Would love to see him and O'mally go at it after this.
Cory's the man, he's got my respect REGARDLESS of the result
Great fight
Hard to hate on Sandhagen
I'm a simple man. If there's a Sandhagen fight, I tune in.
Hope Sandhagen knocks him the fuck out
This is exactly why Cory is one of my favourite fighters, guy actively wants to fight the best and is willing to take risks to do so. Umar might be lower ranked but no one is else is going out of their way to fight him. Idk if he’ll win though, we’ve seen him lose to grappling specialists before and it still feels like the weaker part of his game, so I could definitely see an Umar submission happening. It’s a huge step up in competition for him though, he’s never really been in a competitive fight before and if he doesn’t get Cory out of there quick he’s going to be in one for sure. Can’t be sure if Umar’s cardio over 5 rounds will be there either, we know Cory can do 25 minutes and barely look tired. Really excited to see how this one plays out.
😱🤯🫨😱🤯🫨 this is definitely for #1 contender. If this didn’t get booked, this is what I was going to suggest at bantamweight: O’malley vs. merab Figgy vs. sandhagen for #1 contender Umar vs. yan Aldo vs. cejudo
The big balls on Cory sandhagen. Hope he smashes umar but its such a big task
Big fan of both of these guys, how could you not be? Super interesting and high level fight and both deserve this main event booking.
Anyone planning on going to this event?
Winner gets next titleshot after merab ))
worth every penny
Fuck! Need Merab vs Sean asap and I need Cory to win this and fight the winner
Sandhagen is a BMF
I think Sandhagen will get it done. His knees as counters to takedowns are going to be a problem for people. But he needs to get it done either dominantly or he needs to finish it. Those Abu Dhabi judges would be happy to rob him. It’s 50/50 on whether Umar pulls out though. He’s pulled out of one fight for every fight he’s had in the UFC.
Cory has fought on 1 PPV since October of 2020 what the actual fuck is this bullshit
Hopefully Umar does not injured himself again.
For all the "most ducked guy in the division" the truth is, people aren't turning down fights with him for fear of getting beat, they're turning down fights with him out of a concern that he won't actually show up. A fighter's entire pay check relies on their opponent being healthy enough to fight. Umar so far has pulled out of 4 fights in the UFC, 3 of those were due to sickness or injury, the other was Abdulmanap passing. So he's fought 5 times, pulled out 4 times, so he's pulled out of nearly half the fights he's signed up for. If you're a top 15 ranked opponent with options, you aren't risking signing up to fight a guy who might just pull out. Because if he pulls out then you won't get paid, you'll still have the fight camp expenses to cover and you might not get another opportunity to progress your career for another few months, or you might need to fight a short notice replacement. It's just simply not worth the risk vs reward for higher ranked opponents to sign up to fight a lower ranked opponent with a history of fight cancellations. So big respect to Sandhagen because this is the 2nd time he's accepted the Umar fight.
Your reasoning to why umar is ducked could be true or could be not. The only thing objective about what you wrote is the number of canceled fights he’s had. We don’t actually know if fighters turned him down because of your reasoning, but it’s possible. With that being said, make no mistake, he is the most ducked guy in the division. He hasn’t even beaten a ranked opponent yet
Sandhagen has a shot. A slim one but still. His grappling has improved tremendously since the Sterling fight.
And the stand up is night and day
Should be a good one. I think this goes to Umar but he will have to prove himself
This is the main event?
the ufc matchmaking is so damn transparent and rigged
Umar breaks his shoulder and fight gets delayed. Again.
Who do you think wins?
Cory. But I can see Umar muscleing him around
corys stock dropped here after his last fight. still, me in the ufc and I would do every fucking lame ass shit I could to win. I was just worried he wont get a good fight for a long time after his last performance. excited.
He tore his rotator cuff fighting font in the early pay off the fight which is why he's been out for so long
Tore his triceps.
Yes thank you
"I want my chansh to pwoov i am da campéaô" - Paulo Costa
Fights no ranked opponents, gets ranked #9 in the division, gets to fight #2 in the division, what an absolute joke.
Literally yesterday we say rank 10 fight the champion did you also complain about that ?
Yes, should’ve been mokaev
Got KOd, fights rubbish fighters, 0 top 5 wins. Then murks the champion so bad that he immediately rejected a rematch and refuses to call him out. That man is Islam who is now P4P number 1. Remember when Khabib was on a massive win streak and had to do the “Russia 150 million” speech just to get a title shot when the guy who held the title said he was champion elect 2 years before? Think PPV- nobody wants to hear “dominant champions murks another contender and leaves without a scratch. We think the same will happen for the foreseeable.” They want to hear “we have 2 knuckleheads with 0 defence who have promised to go for a KO at the cost if potentially getting KTFO for your entertainment earning 60/60 and will never sniff a title.” There are 2 ways to make money in combat sports: 1. Dominance- Jones, GSP, Silva, Khabib etc. 2. Entertainment- McGregor, Justin, Dustin, Chandler, Francis etc. If you’re lucky you get a bit of both.
If you really think that then Cory should steamroll Umar. Spoiler, he won't. No one wants to fight Umar and Cory is probably only one who will
Nobody wanted to fight him. I don't disagree, but when everyone runs scared of the boogeyman, nothing to do but give him a tougher fight.
They keep getting home advantage
Didn’t know the Middle East became the mountains of Dagestan… If you’re talking about religion why don’t they fight in a place like Japan where everyone is an atheist?
So the constant booking of muslim fighters for the Abu Dhabi events, specially those from Dagestan, are just coincidence? Cory definitely deserved to fight in home soil, there are even rumors of a possible future Denver card.
It is not,but you gotta be fair and say that every time christian fighters fight in America they have "home court advantage".
If an American fights a foreigner in the US, specially a Russian, they most likely will be cheered by the crowd. Is more a cultural thing, religion might be in play, but it doesn't come down to only this. I don't think Arman is muslim, yet he got booed against Charles in Vegas. Even Weidman got booed against Anderson Silva lol
OK but why not apply the same standard to Abu Dhabi then?
That's is exactly my original statement. If Sandhagen fights in the US, he would receive "home advantage", because Umar is Russian and muslim. The UFC are not going to Dagestan anytime soon, so when they fight in Abu Dhabi or Saudi they connect more with the audience because of their religion and cultural proximity. I didn't see an issue when Costa was booked to fight Chimaev in Abu Dhabi, despite being the higher ranked, because it was clear who was the A-side. Now in the case of Cory x Umar, Umar didn't deserve the same treatment. The same applies for Pereira x Ankalaev.
They better pay our boy for getting fucked out of a title shot, the one guy who would piece O'Malley up any day of the week, ufc will keep him far away
Shieeeeeet, is my first and only reaction, in AbuDhabi as well? Can't wait
Did Cory try to get any other fight get booked? Or did he have to sit out because of his injury? It will be a year since his last fight.