Andrew Ravens
Cory Sandhagen is not satisfied with Sean O’Malley’s explanation for why their fight is not happening at the UFC White House card on June 14.
After O’Malley was booked against Aiemann Zahabi for the historic event at the Nation’s Capital, O’Malley said on The Ariel Helwani Show that he never turned the Sandhagen fight down because it was never offered to him in the first place. Now, Sandhagen, speaking to MMA Fighting, pushed back on that framing and laid out what he believes the correct response would have been.
Cory Sandhagen on what Sean O’Malley should have done
“No, I mean the proper response — when you know that there’s a fight that everyone wants to see you fight in — the proper response when the UFC calls you and says, ‘Hey, we want to do you and so and so,’ you go, ‘Hey, what about this person? That’s who the people want to see,” Sandhagen said. “That’s the proper response in that situation, and that’s not what he gave. So, it sucks. I mean, it just sucks for everyone.
“I’m not too bummed about it because I’m going to fight more times, and it’s not like I’m going to get a brand new contract or anything, or some big money to fight Sean. So it doesn’t matter to me as far as that, but it just sucks that the fans are calling for this one, and it didn’t get to happen… But, yeah, I mean, it’s a little bit valid what he’s saying, but there was a proper response to that, and that’s what I would’ve done.”
Both Sandhagen and O’Malley suffered title fight losses to then-champion Merab Dvalishvili in 2025, with Sandhagen dropping a decision at UFC 320 this past October. The shared circumstance made their bout a natural next step in the eyes of fans, which is why Sandhagen takes issue with how the situation was handled.
When asked whether he has ever been in a position similar to O’Malley’s — where the UFC offered him a fight, and he tried to redirect toward a different opponent — Sandhagen was candid about his standing in the promotion’s pecking order.
“I don’t ever really feel like I’m on the A-side a ton,” Sandhagen said. “It’s not that the UFC doesn’t like me or anything, but I don’t think that I’ve ever been in a spot where I’m like, ‘You know what, no, this is what we should do.’ Except for, I guess, when’ Chito’ fought Sean for the belt, I was like, ‘Hey guys, that probably should have been me.'”
Cory Sandhagen vs. Payton Talbott?
Sandhagen also revealed that a fight with surging contender Payton Talbott was presented to him at some point, but the UFC ultimately went in a different direction. Talbott most recently dominated Henry Cejudo in the former two-division champion’s final MMA fight at UFC 323 this past December.
“They kind of floated that idea by me, and I was game for it, and then they went in a different direction,” Sandhagen said. “I said yes to that fight. But yeah, I thought that I was going to fight him for a couple of days, started kind of getting ready for that a little bit, and then they decided to go in another direction and give me a different opponent, so that’s kind of where I’m at now.”
As for his timeline going forward, Sandhagen has a clear picture of how he wants the remainder of his career to play out. He is targeting a return this summer, with International Fight Week as his preferred window, and wants to compete twice a year for the foreseeable future before stepping away.
“I’ll fight this summer,” Sandhagen said. “That’s all I can really say until they give me more of a solid, ‘Hey, this is exactly what we’re doing.’ But yeah, I mean, it’s got to be this summer for sure. Hopefully, International Fight Week is kind of what I told them that I’m shooting for.”
