UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen did not take kindly to Marlon Vera’s accusation that he’s the one ducking a fight. When Vera, on The MMA Hour, claimed that Sandhagen was avoiding him, Cory Sandhagen took to Instagram to clear the air.
“Cory’s been calling me out, and then they offer for us to fight Nov. 5, because something happened in that main event. He didn’t accept the fight. So why you f*cking call me out, Cory Sandhagen? Then you don’t have time to make weight or get ready. Don’t call another man out and then don’t be able to dance.
Sandhagen Fires Back at Marlon Vera Ducking Accusations
Those are facts. I was doing commentary and my manager bumped my shoulder and he told me the offer, and it was a sexy offer, cause of the short notice. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m ready, let’s go’, that’s clearly number one contender [matchup]. Then, my guy Cory, I don’t know… Just don’t f*cking call me out if you’re not going to take it.”
Sandhagen, for his part, was only a few weeks removed from his latest fight, a brutal stoppage win over Song Yadong. He did not deny that he turned the Vera fight down, but pointed out that getting ample space and a decent camp in before the fight is standard professional behavior.
“We got Chito, who’s trying to make me sound like I’m the guy that’s afraid to fight him. The UFC offered me that fight on three weeks’ notice after it was about a month after I had fought Yadong. Chito, you called out guys in the top five and then fought down in the rankings and fought Cruz.
Do I blame you for doing that? Of course I don’t. It’s the draw. But don’t try to make it sound like I’m afraid of you, bro. You can get me after a full camp, and I’d be glad to whoop your ass sometime around February.”
One thing that “Chito” and Sandhagen do agree on is the progression of the bantamweight title conversation. Sean O’Malley, currently ranked no.1 contender, is next in line, but the winner of Sandhagen vs Vera should be right behind him.
“I think with the division, you gotta give O’Malley the title shot. Hopefully it pays Sterling pretty good. I hope that they do me and Chito for the No. 1 contender spot.” Do you want to see Sandhagen vs Vera? Let us know in the comments.
