Cory Sandhagen points to Umar Nurmagomedov’s vulnerability he plans to exploit in upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi headliner

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen plans to take Umar Nurmagomedov into deep waters in their upcoming five-round clash.

Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov headline UFC Abu Dhabi on August 3rd. The two bantamweights will battle in a No. 1 contender bout to face the winner of the expected fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.

Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov were supposed to square off at UFC Nashville last year before Nurmagomedov withdrew due to injury. He faced Bekzat Almakhan in March, earning a unanimous decision victory.

It was a gritty win by Nurmagomedov against the UFC debutant Almakhan, but Sandhagen feels the unbeaten Dagestani showed his cards ahead of their upcoming fight.

Cory Sandhagen questions Umar Nurmagomedov’s cardio

In a recent interview on the MightyCast podcast, Sandhagen gave his first thoughts on the Nurmagomedov matchup.

“Just from a strategic standpoint, I do really want to fight Umar in a five-round fight also, because I don’t know if you watched his last one, but he was [gassing],” Sandhagen said. “He was working hard though, so I’ll give him that. It was well within the realm of reality to be that tired because he was working real hard, he wasn’t relaxing too much.

“But, that fool was really huffing and puffing during the interview, so I think there’s a vulnerability there that I can capitalize on.”

Nurmagomedov’s win over Almakhan was just the second time in his UFC tenure that he fought the full distance. He’s accumulated three finishes in the UFC Octagon, including a knockout of Raoni Barcelos in Jan. 2023.

Sandhagen is looking to earn the next bantamweight title shot after three consecutive wins. After Nurmagomedov pulled out of their UFC Nashville booking, he defeated short-notice replacement Rob Font in a dominant performance.

Nurmagomedov’s first UFC five-rounder brings a lot more questions than answers, and Sandhagen plans to challenge Nurmagomedov’s pace and pressure inside the cage.