"Decent amount of training partners from that part" - Cory Sandhagen dismisses Dagestani fighters as "superhuman" ahead of Umar Nurmagomedov bout

Cory Sandhagen is willing to take on anyone and everyone. The fact that he last defeated Marlon 'Chito' Vera, who is ranked No.6 in the bantamweight division, and has now agreed to face the No.11-ranked Umar Nurmagomedov is a testament to his fearlessness.

The former UFC interim bantamweight title challenger is currently riding the wave of a two-fight win streak, with his only UFC losses coming against three men who all held undisputed divisional gold – Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw and Aljamain Sterling.

In an interview with Brett Okamoto, 'Sandman' hit back against the popular narrative that Dagestani fighters are superhuman. He also credited his training partners, some of whom are from Dagestan, for preparing him for his upcoming matchup against Nurmagomedov.

His words on the matter are as follows:

"The Dagestanis kind of have this aura of being these superhuman people still and that's not true. They're just doing different things that people haven't picked up on yet, and I have, like, a really good and smart team of coaches to help me navigate that. And then I also have a decent amount of training partners from that part of the world that can also help me get really good at it too."

Check out the interview below (3:31):

Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov will take place at UFC Fight Night 226 in Nashville on August 5. They will headline the card in a bout that will either extend 'Sandman's' run at the top of the division or reshuffle the order by introducing a new dominant force in the form of Umar Nurmagomedov.

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Why wasn't Cory Sandhagen booked to fight Henry Cejudo?

After Cory Sandhagen defeated Marlon Vera, who is currently ranked No.6 in the bantamweight division, many expected him to fight his way up the rankings, especially given that he moved up to fourth place. Instead, he is now scheduled to face the No.11-ranked Umar Nurmagomedov.

Meanwhile, 'Chito', whom he last beat, was rewarded for his loss with a higher-ranked opponent in former champion Henry Cejudo, who is ranked No.3 and recently pushed current incumbent Aljamain Sterling in a hard-fought split-decision loss. While Cejudo has since withdrawn from the bout due to injury, it was very odd matchmaking.