"More deserving guys right now" - Cory Sandhagen makes bold claim preferring Umar Nurmagomedov or Petr Yan over Sean O’Malley

Cory Sandhagen, who is confident about his chances of becoming the new kingpin of the bantamweight division, recently voiced his desire to face Umar Nurmagomedov or Petr Yan next rather than Sean O'Malley.

Sandhagen is scheduled to challenge Merab Dvalishvili for the 135-pound belt in the co-main event of UFC 320 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In a recent interview with Shak MMA, Sandhagen said he believes Nurmagomedov and Yan are far more qualified contenders for the bantamweight throne than O'Malley, who is currently on a two-fight skid:

''Whatever the UFC says, I think that Umar and Yan are definitely the more deserving guys right now. But I definitely want to be an active champ, you know, this one's in October. I'd like to fight in the first quarter of next year against either Yan or Umar, get one of those back and then see what happens for the June card and see if it's O'Malley or either Yan or Umar. See, like so much stuff changes, but ah me and O'Malley at the White House would be sweet.''

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He continued:

''So hopefully he gets a couple wins and we can do that because, you know, he's got to get some wins now. He's kind of falling a little bit behind.''

Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments below (via Red Corner MMA X post):

Sandhagen has already suffered losses against Nurmagomedov and Yan. Last year at UFC Abu Dhabi, the Dagestani fighter defeated Sandhagen via unanimous decision. As for Yan, he also secured a unanimous decision win at UFC 267 in 2021 to capture the interim bantamweight gold.

The 33-year-old bounced back and earned a title opportunity by beating Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines earlier this year.

Sean O'Malley wants to face Cory Sandhagen at UFC White House

Sean O'Malley is aiming to compete on the UFC White House card and expressed his wish to face Cory Sandhagen.

In a YouTube video posted earlier this month, O'Malley said:

''I definitely would, absolutely love to be on that card...God, Cory vs. Merab...I’m so curious how that fight plays out. I mean, Cory goes out there wins, I beat whoever’s next. That’s interesting. That could [happen]. But regardless, I want to fight within the next four or five months, whatever it is, and I’ll also be ready for that. If I can get one in early next year, end of this year, one of the two, count me in. I want to be on that card.''

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Swagat is a dynamic MMA writer with a total experience of a little less than a year, which includes time in retail and sports journalism. He holds an MBA degree.

Swagat fell in love with the sport after watching the iconic grudge match between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in early 2015. Nate Diaz holds a special place in his heart for the Stockton native’s entertaining fan-friendly style and ability to deliver exciting fights regardless of the opponent.

In terms of rule changes in MMA, Swagat advocates for making scores public after each round, adding transparency to judging decisions.

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