Cory Sandhagen shuts down Sean O'Malley's take on his upcoming fight with Chito Vera

Cory Sandhagen doesn't seem to agree with fellow contender Sean O'Malley's opinion that 'Sandman' will be at a major disadvantage when he faces Marlon 'Chito' Vera at UFC Fight Night 219 in February.

On a recent episode of his podcast, Sean O'Malley, the top-ranked bantamweight, suggested that Marlon Vera may have an edge over Cory Sandhagen. He claims it's due to the smaller cage size at the UFC Apex.

Appearing in a recent interview with James Lynch, Cory Sandhagen shut down 'Sugar's' claims. Instead, the No.5-ranked bantamweight stated confidently that he enjoys the challenge of fighting in a smaller cage:

"I think that Sean's projecting... like his feelings about fighting at the Apex for me because me and him do have like more or less similar styles. Because we are built the same but... I don't really mind fighting in a small cage. I actually appreciate the challenge of it. I like having the guys get close to me. It makes fighting in a bigger cage that much easier so... you know that's his projections, but I don't really mind, I appreciate the challenge of it."

Check out Sandhagen's response in the video below:

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Cory Sandhagen looks back at Islam Makhachev's recent title win; claims the Dagestani revealed many weaknesses in Charles Oliveira's technique

At UFC 280, Khabib Nurmagomedov's protégé Islam Makhachev defeated Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight championship title. In the second round of their fight, the Dagestani fighter submitted the most successful submission artist in UFC history with an arm triangle choke.

Reflecting on the fight in the same interview, Sandhagen praised the lightweight champion's impressive skills. He also claiming that the Dagestani exposed many flaws in Charles Oliveira's game:

He [Charles Oliveira] didn't move too well on the bottom. I think he [Islam Makhachev] kind of exposed a lot of Oliveira's holes. Oliveira has bada** submissions, but the way he [Charles Oliveira] moves on the ground, uh, isn't always the best.

"But when he [Charles Oliveira] does snaps something on him, he definitely snaps it really, really nicely. So I think Islam did like a really good job."- he further added.

Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments on Islam Makhachev below: