UFC 329 star Cory Sandhagen jibes at "Sugar" Sean O'Malley over their long-awaited potential MMA fight not materializing

Cory Sandhagen and "Sugar" Sean O'Malley are counted among the very best strikers in the UFC today, irrespective of weight class. The two bantamweights have long operated in the upper echelons of their weight class but haven't faced one another inside the octagon yet. 

Sandhagen, for his part, has expressed his interest in fighting O'Malley. "The Sandman" took a jibe at his fellow fearsome striker over their potential fight, which is often discussed by many as a striking fans' delight, not materializing for the past several years. 

Cory Sandhagen and "Sugar" Sean O'Malley are eyeing UFC bantamweight gold, which currently belongs to a familiar foe, Petr Yan

The UFC bantamweight division, as of this time, is ruled by Petr Yan. The Russian fighter commenced his second reign as the 135-pound kingpin when he avenged a past unanimous decision loss by beating Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision in their rematch last December. 

Both Cory Sandhagen and Sean O'Malley are no strangers to "No Mercy." Sandhagen faced Yan in an interim UFC bantamweight title fight back in 2021 and suffered a unanimous decision defeat. Moreover, O'Malley fought and bested Yan in a razor-thin split decision victory in 2022.

Also, Sandhagen suffered a unanimous decision defeat against Dvalishvili last year. Meanwhile, O'Malley has a pair of losses to the Georgian-American combatant -- Dvalishvili bested "Sugar" via unanimous decision in 2024 and by submission last year. 

Cory Sandhagen is open to fighting "Sugar" Sean O'Malley; eyes another win over Mario Bautista at UFC 329

Presently, the consensus is that reigning UFC bantamweight champ Petr Yan is likely to defend his title in a trilogy fight against Merab Dvalishvili, possibly later this year. Moreover, Sean O'Malley, who's coming off a TKO win against Aiemann Zahabi last month, has also vowed to reclaim the bantamweight belt he once held. 

The top tier of the 135-pound division also has Cory Sandhagen, who's set to rematch Mario Bautista at UFC 329 on July 11. Sandhagen bested Bautista via submission in the latter's UFC debut back in 2019. 

Speaking to Brian Campbell for UFC on Paramount, Sandhagen asserted that he's confident about beating Bautista again. "The Sandman" also indicated that he's been calling out O'Malley for years. 

The veteran fighter jibed at his fellow American striking maestro, implying that O'Malley would be responsible if their long-awaited dream matchup doesn't come to fruition. 

When asked whom he'd like to fight in the bantamweight division, Sandhagen stated: 

"O'Malley is the only name on there. Um, yeah, we'll see if he ever wants to do it. You know? Like, it's the, literally, I feel like the fight that's being called for the most, maybe, in the UFC is me and O'Malley. So, I mean, hopefully, he just does it." 

He continued, "You know, I don't really know the UFC's plan or whatever. But, I mean, I've been calling for it for a long time. So if it doesn't happen, all the fans know whose fault it is." 

 

Watch Cory Sandhagen discuss a potential fight against Sean O'Malley below (*comments at the 7:10-minute mark of the video):