“You challenge a higher ranked opponent and pick a date? Come on, Umar. International fight week, you’re up against me bro!”, Sandhagen wrote on social media, addressing the Russian fighter.
Last weekend, Petr Yan successfully returned to the octagon after a one-year hiatus and snapped a three-fight losing streak by defeating China’s Song Yadong by unanimous decision over three rounds.
A week earlier, undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov extended his UFC winning streak to five fights with a unanimous decision win over the organization’s debutant Bekzat Almakhan, then challenged Cory Sandhagen after the American agreed to fight him.
Recall that the fight between Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov was supposed to headline UFC on ESPN 50 in Nashville last August, however, the Russian was injured and withdrew from the fight, and the American fighter defeated his compatriot Rob Font, who won by unanimous decision.