Cory Sandhagen shares post-UFC 329 update on Instagram
Cory Sandhagen's UFC 329 rematch with Mario Bautista didn't go according to plan, and 'The Sandman' recently reflected on what went wrong on an Instagram post.
Just days after UFC 329, Cory Sandhagen has broken his silence over a hard-fought unanimous decision loss to Mario Bautista. The fight was a rematch seven years in the making, with 'The Sandman' having emerged victorious in their first outing at UFC Fight Night 143 via first-round submission. Unfortunately for Sandhagen, things couldn't have gone more differently this time around.
Cory Sandhagen reflects on his latest loss
UFC 329 marked the second consecutive loss in Cory Sandhagen's recent run. While he avoided getting finished, he did go through some cagey moments in the bout. In round one, he barely escaped a kneebar that injured his hamstring, and in round three, he suffered a knockdown after Mario Bautista caught him with a counter-left hook. Despite his opponent's best efforts, Sandhagen survived, but it was a performance to forget, which he touched on in a statement on Instagram.
"Frickin bummer man. Losing in fighting is the most embarrassing thing ever. Sucks. Pretty sure the kneebar tore my hamstring in the first (getting MRI this week). It kept locking out weird if I did certain things. So that kind of messed up my gameplan. Congrats to Mario. He was well prepared. 1st was close but he won it with that kneebar. 2nd I won (surprisingly cause leg was jacked). 3rd, I wanted to have the same round as before but got dropped. Gotta fight near perfect to win at the top. Something I need to get better at. Appreciate the love from you guys. Enjoy your week. Love you. Peace."
Sandhagen now finds himself on a career-worst rough patch at 1-3 in his last four fights, including a unanimous decision loss to then bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili in their UFC 320 title fight. Where he goes from here is anyone's guess, but his championship aspirations are becoming increasingly unlikely. He'll now recover from his injury and go back to the drawing board. Bautista, by contrast, is on a two-fight win streak, having not only beaten Sandhagen this past weekend to avenge an early career loss, but also authored a masterful performance in a second-round submission win over Vinicius Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 266.
