On Saturday, February 6th, our very own, Cory Sandhagen, walked into the UFC octagon and 28 seconds later he walked out a winner by knock out via a flying knee — against UFC Hall of Famer, Frankie Edgar. It was beautifully timed and perfectly executed. His fans around the world are still in complete awe, probably hitting replay after replay. He gained something like 40k followers on Instagram in 12 hours. Whoever Cory steps into the ring with next, we know we can expect a show – he has definitely made a name for himself.
So who’s next for Cory after that jaw dropping performance? The title shot for the belt against the champion Petr Yan? That’s certainly what Cory is hoping for. But the return of T.J. Dillashaw might be a roadblock for Cory to get to that belt. Here’s what Cory has to say about the possibility of fighting T.J. Dillashaw next:
Sandhagen told MMA Fighting on Wednesday, “Of course there’s concern. Cause the UFC, it’s a business and they operate like a business. T.J. is a much bigger name than I am. He’ll probably get more sales for stuff maybe then I will, and that’s concerning for me. That being said, I don’t want them to just feed T.J. some really lackluster fight just so that they can say he’s coming off a win. If it comes down to it, I think I should be the next one fighting for the title, but if we need to eliminate another option, which is T.J., then I’ll fight T.J., and then I’ll fight for the title, too.”
Cory is willing to take out as many people as he needs to before he even fights for the title, which means a rematch against Aljamain Sterling. Here’s what Cory has to say about the possibility of fighting Aljamain Sterling next:
“I’m a different monster than I was before I fought Aljamain Sterling,” Sandhagen said. “He taught me some lessons. I know Yan has been talking about fighting T.J. [Dillashaw] after that fight, and that’s if he even wins that fight. That’s garbage to me. Fight me. I’m the toughest guy next to Aljamain. If Aljamain wins, I owe him a nap, and he’s going to get that nap. The winner of those two gets knocked out by me in July.”
Cory’s remarkable journey began right here, at High Altitude Martial Arts. It has been amazing watching him grow and develop his skills into what he is today. Dreams do come true with hard work and determination. You need to want it and be willing to work to get it! We have the coaches and teammates that will help you reach your goals, whatever they may be. Coach Cory teaches a killer mixed martial arts (MMA) class for aspiring fighters weekly. He works closely with his striking coach, Christian Allen, developing their game and perfecting their strategy.
Cory is special to us here at High Altitude Martial Arts – special to his teammates and special to his students, particularly the youth kickboxing students. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, he comes in to teach them. And they LOVE it! Even as the weeks and days get closer to his fight, and he’s cutting weight, he puts on a hoodie to keep warm from the weight loss and still makes those kids a priority.
While training for his last fight against Frankie Edgar, Cory and his assistant coach Ryan Solsbery created a new ranking system for the youth kickboxing class. They put countless hours into the designs, the promotion system, and the curriculum. They are so excited to roll it out to the students and we can’t wait to see the results. This will definitely raise the bar for youth kickboxing in Colorado. The program is growing exponentially, thanks to Coach Cory and Coach Ryan!
Besides how cool it is to have the next UFC Bantamweight champ as your kids kickboxing coach, read about all the benefits of youth kickboxing here.
Congratulations again to Coach Cory “The Sandman” Sandhagen. We thank you for your hard work and dedication to our youth!
