2024-05-11 12:01:10
The long-awaited fight with Sandhagen will take place in Abu Dhabi.
Last August, the undefeated Russian fighter Umar Nurmagomedov was scheduled to fight Corey Sandhagen, who at that time was ranked fourth in the bantamweight rankings. As İdman.biz reports with reference to the “Championship”, this was the main event of the tournament in Nashville and a great chance to immediately jump into the top 5, but shortly before the tournament, Umar dropped out due to a shoulder injury.
Sandhagen then fought off Rob Font, passed it confidently and also got injured, being out for seven to eight months. Since then, Nurmagomedov has had only one fight, in which he defeated a newcomer from Kazakhstan, Bekzat Almakhan. Shortly before this, Corey, who had already risen to second place in the rankings, said that he would be ready to give Umar another chance if he wins.
“Now I am standing next to Umar. If he gets a good win on March 2nd, looks good and performs amazing and they don’t give me a title shot, then get me and Umar a fight at International Fight Week. Obviously a lot needs to happen, but I’m still open to Umar. I just felt like I was one fight ahead of him, and now that he has the opportunity to compete, I’m definitely ready for it again,” Sandhagen explained.
After the victory, Umar said that he was ready to meet with Corey, and he kept his word, setting only one condition – it must be a challenger’s match: “I have no problems fighting Umar. Especially since they keep telling me that this will be a fight for the title of the main contender for the title. If they think so highly of him, let’s do it.”
And now is the second attempt to arrange a fight between Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov. The UFC has announced a fight for the Fight Night tournament in Abu Dhabi, which will take place on August 3. This is the main fight of the evening, and this is logical if we are talking about a candidate fight. Umar needs to test himself at a distance of more than three rounds, so this is beneficial for him from all points of view.
But for Corey, no. Sandhagen is number two in the division, ahead of him in the queue for the title is only Merab Dvalishvili, and then there is emptiness. In addition, Corey not only gives a chance to the fighter from the ninth line, but also goes, in fact, into his territory. This is bold, but there are questions for the American’s management.
Of course, not everyone likes this arrangement. For example, Dvalishvili initially criticized the organization of the Sandhagen-Nurmagomedov fight: “Why is Umar fighting with Corey? Why doesn’t he fight Bautista or anyone else? Umar hasn’t fought anyone in the top 15, and Sandhagen has been in the top 10 for a very long time. Umar is good, but he should fight someone else. Nobody gave me such a chance. Umar must fight more, compete with serious opponents. He just beat a debutant, and in his first three fights in the UFC he didn’t fight the toughest opponents – I’m not even sure they’re still in the UFC.”
Current champion Sean O’Malley criticized Sandhagen’s team a year ago, but has now changed his rhetoric and is ready to fight the winner of this fight: “I would like to fight the winner of the Sandhagen-Nurmagomedov fight. If Corey beats Umar beautifully, then hopefully that will make him a star. Although I still think that the fight against Umar is bigger. And it’s strange because I haven’t watched a single Nurmagomedov fight.”
If he wins, Umar will fly into the top 3 of the division and become a contender for the belt. This is a big step for Nurmagomedov, and he will only have to wait for the outcome of the O’Malley-Dvalishvili fight, which appears to be inevitable at UFC 306 in September. And in an ideal scenario, Umar will be at the end of the year or, more likely, early next will fight for the title.
İdman.biz