Cory Sandhagen faced Umar Nurmagomedov in a five-round bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Sandhagen lost the fight via unanimous decision. The judges scored the fight (50–45, 49–46, 49–46).
On Instagram, Cory Sandhagen (17-5) stated that fighting Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0) was an honor.
“Tough sport. Umar is really world class – it was an honor to fight one of the world’s best. Congrats to him.
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Gonna keep getting better, like I always do. Thanks for the support. I love you guys.
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PEACE”
Umar Nurmagomedov earned a UFC Bantamweight Championship opportunity with this victory. After the fight, Sandhagen stated that Nurmagomedov could win the title.
“I knew he was good, he beat me tonight, I recognize that. Congratulations, he’s a very, very good fighter. Now he’s got to fight for the belt, he’ll probably win. And then somehow I’ll get to him.”