"I can't connect with that" - Cory Sandhagen says Sean O'Malley's "lame" mindset could ruin the sport

Cory Sandhagen is set to face Rob Font on short notice in the main event of UFC Nashville this weekend. 'The Sandman' was previously scheduled to meet budding bantamweight star Umar Nurmagomedov, but the Dagestani was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Sandhagen's decision to accept a matchup with Nurmagomedov surprised some, as 'The Sandman' is ranked seven places above him on the UFC rankings. His decision was criticized by Sean O'Malley, who felt that it was "poor management" on the part of Sandhagen.

Ahead of his fight with Rob Font this weekend, Cory Sandhagen was interviewed by SHAK MMA. 'The Sandman' was asked to share his thoughts on Sean O'Malley's criticism, and the former interim-title challenger expressed his bewilderment at the mindset of 'Sugar':

"There are things about Sean O'Malley that I think just super lame. Talking about things like fighting the worst guy for the most amount of money. Everything being business decisions. I can't connect with that type of thinking at all. To me, those are ways of thinking that are just weak and are ways of thinking that are going to trend into ruining the sport a little bit. You should want to fight the best guys. If you're here to be the actual world champion, that's what we're doing. I don't see this as a business..."

Watch the video below from 11:15:

Sean O'Malley is set to take on Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 292 in two week. 'Sugar' has declared that Cory Sandhagen will not get a title shot should O'Malley beat Sterling later this month.

But a superb performance against a tough opponent in Rob Font could give the UFC matchmakers little choice but to match O'Malley up with Sandhagen.

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Cory Sandhagen makes his case for a title shot with a win over Rob Font

Cory Sandhagen believes a win over Rob Font at UFC Nashville this weekend should be enough to earn a coveted title shot against the winner of Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley, set to headline UFC 292.

Sandhagen bounced back from an interim title fight loss against Petr Yan at UFC 267 with two stellar performances against Song Yadong and Marlon Vera. 'The Sandman' believes a third-straight win would make him the obvious No.1 contender for a title shot.

During a recent interview with Mike Bohn, Sandhagen said this:

"Who else can you say should get a title shot? Definitely Merab [Dvalishvili], but he won't fight Aljamain... Cejudo got granted a golden gift when he got a title shot after having retired... I go out and beat another tough, experienced guy in the division, then I think I'm definitely the next guy to fight for the belt."

Watch the video below from 5:15: