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Following his victory over Bekzat Almakhan at UFC Vegas 87, Umar Nurmagomedov improved his record to 17-0. Despite being rocked early by his opponent, Nurmagomedov rallied to secure a decision win.
In his post-fight interview, he took to the mic to call out Cory Sandhagen, who is currently ranked at the #3 spot in the bantamweight division. Nurmagomedov, who holds the #10 spot, is hoping to fight up the rankings and move into the top five.
The two were booked to face each other in the past, but Nurmagomedov was forced to withdraw. Now, it's clear that he is hoping to face Sandhagen, given the callout.
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Sandhagen, in an interview with Shak MMA, accepted the callout and said that he would be willing to fight him, "especially if it's for a No. 1 Contender spot."
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Fans took to the comments section to laud Sandhagen for being willing to take anyone on.
One user wrote:
"Even Umar fans gotta respect this dude what a G"
"Cory is the man. Book it."
Others, however, advised Sandhagen to wait it out for a title shot, which he arguably deserves, with comments like:
"It should be Merab the Cory in summer. Cory has done enough to be next in line after Merab. I don’t think he has to fight Umar nor it is a smart decision."
"No Cory should’ve wait his next in line for the belt"
Check out some of the top comments here:
Umar Nurmagomedov confident he will face Cory Sandhagen in International Fight Week
Umar Nurmagomedov, speaking in his UFC Vegas 87 post-fight interview, said that he is confident the bout with Sandhagen will be put together. He expects the fight to go down during International Fight Week.
He said:
"Right now, I don't care because they say we have date, International date, with Cory Sandhagen. Before this fight they were talking about this, Cory also talked about this and I think it's going to happen."
Check out Umar Nurmagomedov's comments here:
With Merab Dvalishvili solidifying his claim to a title shot at 135 pounds with his win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298, Cory Sandhagen will either have to wait or take up another fight. And all signs indicate that the 'Sandman' is looking to stay active.
