"He did make the UFC pretty upset" - Cory Sandhagen shares theory on Marlon Vera facing Sean O'Malley next over higher ranked contenders

Cory Sandhagen is currently out of action until at least April, 2024, after suffering a fully torn tricep in his previous fight against Rob Font at UFC Nashville in August.

His win over Font positioned him nicely for a title shot against Sean O'Malley, but his injury has ruled him out of contention until further notice.

Sandhagen is ranked at No.4 in the bantamweight division, and the man ranked one place higher than him, Henry Cejudo, is also out injured, meaning he cannot face 'Sugar' next either.

With Aljamain Sterling stating that he will not be fighting for an extended period of time following his TKO loss to O'Malley, he has also ruled himself out as the champion's next opponent.

Many believe that No.2 ranked Merab Dvalishvili is deserving of the next title shot, but Cory Sandhagen provided an interesting theory as to why Marlon Vera is likely to receive the title shot instead.

'The Sandman' pointed to Dvalishvili and Sterling's deal, whilst 'Funk Master' was champion, that the pair wouldn't fight each other, even if 'The Machine' was ranked No.1 in the division.

During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Cory Sandhagen said this:

"Merab is obviously the guy that everyone says should be the guy that gets the title shot, right? But I think he did make the UFC pretty upset with the way that he handled him and Aljamain's little side-deal. I know that if I was running a business, and I had a promotion and that thing was my baby, and people were doing side ideas that weren't ideas that I had, that wouldn't fly with me too much either."

Sandhagen continued:

"That's the reason I think Chito is getting the shot over Merab"

Watch the video below from 8:20:

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Cory Sandhagen provides an update on his return to fighting

Cory Sandhagen suffered a fully torn tricep during his main event clash with Rob Font at UFC Nashville in August.

'The Sandman' put on a superb performance despite the injury and dominated his opponent en route to a unanimous decision win.

During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, 'The Sandman' explained how a pre-existing elbow issue had likely contributed to him tearing his tricep on fight night, and also shared a potential return date.

Cory Sandhagen said this in the aforementioned interview:

"It's a little bit hard to tell. I know I'm recovering quickly, said the doc... I eat really good and don't go crazy or anything on the weekends. I would guess that April would be semi-optimistic, as far as my comfort level goes as far as having a full training camp and everything like that." [3:00-3:34]