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Former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw will return to the octagon to fight top bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Vegas 32.
This is Dillashaw's first appearance inside the octagon following his two-year suspension back in 2019. The former champion believes his upcoming opponent is the toughest matchup in the division.
T.J. Dillashaw recently appeared in an interview with Aaron Bronsteter for TSN. The former champion was asked to rank Cory Sandhagen, Petr Yan, and Aljamain Sterling based on the toughness of his matchups with them and overall skills. 'Lieutenant Dan' stated that he'd rank them in the same order as in the question, i.e., 1) Cory Sandhagen, 2) Petr Yan, and 3) Aljamain Sterling. Dillashaw said:
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"I think the same way [mentioned]. I think this is the real title fight between me and Cory, then we'll go to Petr Yan and then Aljamain Sterling."
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It's clear that T.J. Dillashaw believes Cory Sandhagen is the toughest fight in the UFC's bantamweight division. The former champion reiterated how he sees the upcoming fight between him and Cory Sandhagen as the real title fight.
T.J. Dillashaw thinks Cory Sandhagen has not changed much as a fighter
An added factor about the UFC Vegas 32 main event that makes it more interesting is that Cory Sandhagen and T.J. Dillashaw are former training partners. Thus, there will be a sense of familiarity in terms of the opponent's fighting style and power when the two enter the octagon to face each other.
Given their sparring history together, T.J. Dillashaw does not believe Cory Sandhagen has changed as a fighter. He said:
"I don't think he has changed much as a fighter. I think he has just changed with his confidence a little bit. He's the same fighter, he's the same guy. He does the same things. He has got the same good and bad habits... He's just a good athlete, you know. he's been training martial arts for a long time. I know he had a basketball background when he first started doing kickboxing and he got really good at it."
Cory Sandhagen reveals the advantages of having sparred with T.J. Dillashaw in the past
'The Sandman' believes his past sparring sessions with T.J. Dillashaw will help him going into this fight. The experience he already has while fighting Dillashaw will do away with the fear of the unknown, vis-a-vis factors like an opponent's power and speed. In an interview with MMA Fighting, Cory Sandhagen said:
"You go in with a lot of unknowns when you're fighting someone for the first time, which is 99% the case. This isn't one of those 99% times. I am going in with a lot more knowns. I kinda know how fast T.J. is, I kinda know how strong T.J. is. I know how quickly he covers distance. I know the energy that he brings into the cage and the intensity."
Watch the interview below:
