"He fought with one arm" - Fans sympathize with Cory Sandhagen after UFC star announces 6-month layoff 

Cory Sandhagen was able to pick up a unanimous decision victory over Rob Font in the main event of UFC on ESPN 50. The No.4-ranked bantamweight took to Instagram to reveal that he fully tore his triceps in the first round of the five-round bout, stating:

"Fully torn tricep in Round 1 :/ Wasn’t able to punch or elbow with that arm without pain and it feeling like shit. Did what I had to do to win that night. Surgery this week - back soon! PEACE - LOVE YOU"

Check out Cory Sandhagen's Instagram post below:

'The Sandman' later revealed, during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, that he will have surgery on Thursday and be out for a minimum of six months. Fans reacted to the news via Twitter. @martinh_23 questioned the negative backlash Sandhagen faced following the bout, stating:

"Why do mfs hate on him when he fought with one arm"

@WesleyStyles2 claimed the No.4-ranked bantamweight was still dominant despite the injury:

"Dude how many fight's has this guy put on that were exciting and back and forth? Pretty much every fight he has been in except this one over the weekend and now everyone finds out his shoulder was tore and had to have surgery. And he still dominanted the fight taking [Font] down."

@dyandrews12 alleged that fans have exposed themselves by their reaction to the bout:

"All these dudes clowning Cory exposed as fake fans since he said directly after the fight he tore his tricep, now they’ll all forgive and move on to the next reaction moment"

@mayaxordonez wants to see Sandhagen fight Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title:

"Cory vs Merab for the vacant belt after Aljo beats O’Malley and moves up 🤝"

@luke_emberton stated:

"Alright I paid good money to see him and he fought hurt my bad I was pissed Saturday but it’s legit he fought hurt and did what he could"

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Cory Sandhagen weighs in on Aljamain Sterling potentially moving up

Aljamain Sterling has shared that he is planning to move to featherweight after facing Sean O'Malley at UFC 292. No.4-ranked bantamweight Cory Sandhagen recently revealed that he is hoping to face 'Funk Master' before the champion leaves the division. Speaking with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, 'The Sandman' stated:

"I definitely don't want Aljamain Sterling to just like leave without losing and kind of make us all look like a bunch of b**ches by just like peacing out. So, I would really like to see another fight with me and Aljamain. I think that one, it would just feel good to get some revenge."

Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments on facing Aljamain Sterling below:

Sandhagen and Sterling previously clashed in a bantamweight title eliminator at UFC 250 in 2020 with the latter winning via first-round submission. 'Funk Master' was able to win the bantamweight title in his next bout and has defended the belt three times, a divisional record. Meanwhile, 'The Sandman' has been looking to work his way back into title contention.