Cory Sandhagen gets honest about mindset ahead of Deiveson Figueiredo fight at UFC Des Moines: "I would gladly die in there"

Cory Sandhagen is well aware of the challenge that awaits him in the UFC Des Moines main event. In a recent interview with FULL SEND MMA, 'The Sandman' spoke about the mental aspect of his preparation ahead of locking horns with former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.

Much like Carlos Prates echoed during his face-off with Ian Machado Garry at the UFC Kansas City ceremonial weigh-ins, Sandhagen spoke about his willingness and readiness to die in the octagon. To die while fighting would be a privilege, according to him.

"I would, this sounds crazy and it's fight week, but I would gladly die in there. If there's a way to die, dude, I want it to be doing some sh*t that I really love, not some weird way where I'm in a hospital or whatever. I would gladly do it, and be pumped about it. I'd get to wherever we go after this and be like, 'Hell yeah. That was a cool 30-something years.'"

While he made it clear that he doesn't want to die in the octagon come fight night, as that would mean a loss, he's mentally prepared for such an outcome.

"Awesome, I got to go doing something that I really loved. At the same time, though, as I'm speaking, I definitely don't want that to happen this weekend either, but there's a piece inside of me that loves it that much."

Check out Cory Sandhagen detailing his mindset:

The ex-interim bantamweight title challenger will look to return to the title scene by scoring a win over Figueiredo, who recently had a three-fight hot streak in the division. Sandhagen, though, will have to use every ounce of skill in his arsenal to taste victory.

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Deiveson Figueiredo will be the fifth UFC champion Cory Sandhagen has faced

Cory Sandhagen has been fighting top competition for years. In fact, he has locked horns with former UFC champions four times. At UFC 250, he faced the now former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, losing via first-round submission. A year later, he knocked out Frankie Edgar at UFC Vegas 18.

Check out Cory Sandhagen knocking out Frankie Edgar:

Edgar, for context, is a former lightweight champion with two title defenses. 'The Sandman' followed that up by losing to former bantamweight champions T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan at UFC Vegas 32 and UFC 267 via split decision and unanimous decision, respectively.

Now, Deiveson Figueiredo, an ex-flyweight champion, will be his fifth-ever champion.