Cory Sandhagen hopes to use “famous guy leverage” to his advantage in 2024: “Start hanging out with rappers”
UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen plans to get more fame this year, and then use it.
‘The Sandman’ has been out of the cage since a unanimous decision victory over Rob Font in August. While it was Cory Sandhagen’s third victory in a row, it came at a cost. In the five-round main event, he suffered a torn triceps, putting him on the shelf indefinitely. As a result, the bantamweight division has been passing him by.
One of the men whom Cory Sandhagen defeated in his current win streak, Marlon Vera, will be fighting for the title in March. At UFC 299, ‘Chito’ will face Sean O’Malley, in a rematch of their 2020 encounter. Vera famously handed ‘Sugar’ his first loss by first-round stoppage, after the future champion suffered an injury.
Appearing on The MMA Hour, Cory Sandhagen felt a bit jealous of his peers’ treatment. Speaking with Ariel Helwani, the bantamweight contender stated that he wished that he had “famous guy leverage”, similar to those of O’Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov.
‘Young Eagle’ was famously set to face Cory Sandhagen last year, before suffering an injury. When asked about the matchup, ‘The Sandman’ admitted that he had no interest in rebooking it, and referenced the sort of leverage the Russian had to make the fight in the first place. This year, Sandhagen hopes to earn that leverage.
UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen seeking “famous guy leverage” in 2024 comeback
“There’s famous guy leverage,” Cory Sandhagen stated when asked about Umar Nurmagomedov. “I won’t beat around the bush, there’s famous guy leverage. I’m trying to acquire some famous guy leverage. I think maybe I should start hanging out with rappers and maybe making myself look less like a normal dude than I do already. Maybe that will be my 2024 rebrand. I’ll get some tattoos on my face, I’ll color [my hair] and I’ll start hanging out with some rappers. It’s just the nature of the sport.” (h/t MMAFighting)
He continued, “This is where sport and entertainment mix. A lot of people watch sports for the beauty of it and then a lot of people watch for the drama of it. It’s easier to understand drama than it is to understand beauty. So that’s just the nature of everything. [Umar] has famous guy leverage, good on him. I’m going to try to scoop up some of that famous leverage this year so that there’s no question, ‘Cory fights for the belt next.’”
“I’m not going to act crazy or do anything like that.” Cory Sandhagne concluded. “I’ll still be myself, but that’s a piece of the social media stuff and all of the side games you’ve got to play inside the big adventure.”
What do you make of these comments from UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen? Who do you hope to see him fight next?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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