"I win the argument" - Cory Sandhagen disagrees with Sean O'Malley's suggestions to become more popular

Cory Sandhagen and Sean O'Malley continue to grow a passive-aggressive rivalry.

Sandhagen recently appeared on The MMA Hour and claimed his lack of a title opportunity is because he is less famous amongst the casual fanbase. Responding to the bantamweight contender's slights of his personality, O'Malley responded on X by tweeting a condescending remark about his wins over their shared opponents.

O'Malley's tweet claimed that his fame was largely due to his recent wins over Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan, dismissing Sandhagen's statement.

In return, Sandhagen doubled down to his comments with a reply to a post on Instagram, claiming to have won the argument. He said:

"@sugasean nah, you were more famous than me before winning those fights too. I win the argument"

Cory Sandhagen responding to Sean O'Malley's statement that his popularity stems from recent victories [via @mmafighting on Instagram]

Per Sandhagen's comment, O'Malley has been featured on UFC pay-per-view cards for his entire UFC run. The bantamweight's hype was born on Dana White's Contender Series when the American's knockout impressed guest commentator Snoop Dogg, followed by introducing the crowd to 'The Suga Show.'

With both O'Malley and Sandhagen debuting in the octagon in 2018, the latter has 10 wins in the promotion, one more than the champion. The 'Sandman' has also existed in the UFC rankings for a long portion of time despite O'Malley becoming the champion first.

---

Cory Sandhagen: When will the 'Sandman' return to the octagon?

After picking up his third consecutive win at UFC on ESPN 50, Cory Sandhagen announced his next fight would not be for some time due to a complete tricep tear suffered in the fight.

Providing updates in interviews since his recent win over Rob Font, Sandhagen announced his injury timeline will sideline him until at least April. With the bantamweight belt on the line at UFC 299, Sandhagen could be in a title fight next in late 2024.

In his interview on The MMA Hour, Sandhagen said he would feel comfortable beginning a fight camp in a month or so, aligning with the timeline he previously provided.

Though he dominated Font at UFC Nashville, Sandhagen was initially booked to face rising contender Umar Nurmagomedov before the Russian withdrew due to injury. UFC CEO Dana White has expressed interest in re-booking the fight, but no news has been made public on Sandhagen's targeted next opponent.