Cory Sandhagen backs up fight against Mario Bautista: ‘I’m more technical, more technical’ | MMA News

Corey Sandhagen has been flirting with the UFC bantamweight title for years but has yet to break through. He has challenged for championship gold twice, but failed both times, and now finds himself back in familiar territory – needing another statement win in one of the promotion’s deepest divisions.His assignment for International Fight Week is a familiar face. Seven years after Batista defeated Mario Bautista in his third UFC appearance, Sandhagen met him again in a fight that had much more serious consequences than their first meeting.This game comes with a very different narrative. Bautista saw this as a wrestling advantage and vowed to pursue the finish. Sandhagen disagrees with this assessment.In an exclusive conversation with Timesofindia.com, Sandhagen discusses Bautista’s evolution since their first meeting, why he ignores wrestling narratives, the lessons of his latest title loss, and why he believes a showdown with Sean O’Malley makes the most sense if he gets past Bautista.extract: This is another showdown with Mario after seven years. How is he different now compared to the debut version of him you faced in 2019?I think he’s a better fighter now. I think we all are. He’s come a long way and I think it’s going to be a challenging fight.Mario said he was looking for the finish and thought it was a wrestling match. How do you react to this public assessment of the fight?I don’t think Mario showed nearly as much great offensive wrestling as I’ve seen. He was defeated by Omar by a larger margin. He got knocked down and I got knocked down many times but got back up right away each time. So I don’t know what he’s talking about.What do you think is Mario’s greatest strength? How are you going to eliminate it?I think Mario’s greatest strength is that he is a very hardworking person. He’s confident and won’t give up. I plan on dealing with that by being the same as him, but also being more skilled, more skilled, and more diligent than he is.You had great results against the likes of Edgar and Moraes, and you were able to outmaneuver opponents like Fonte tactically. How do you decide, fight after fight, whether to set off fireworks or settle for a controlled victory?You always try to win with fireworks, but sometimes the other guy does a good job and you can’t get him out of there. That’s the way it is.

Cory Sandhagen vs. Merab Dvalishvili (AP Photo)

After UFC 320 [Merab Dvalishvili]you said this battle can definitely be won. What exactly went wrong, and how did you fix it in preparation for Mario?I think if I had a better performance in the second round, I would have done well. I also made a few technical mistakes that were easily fixable and that I think would have changed the outcome of the battle. So it really came down to those technical errors and not getting hurt as badly in the second round.you were one of them Top bantamweight Over the years. How much of this fight is about proving to yourself that you can still handle the new wave of fighters like Mario, rather than just the old contenders?I think I’ve only played a few more games than Mario, so I don’t think he’s a prospect. I think he’s been in the UFC for a long time. Maybe I’m only a year or two more in the UFC than he is.

Mario Bautista (Special Arrangement)

So I really don’t think he’s a promising fighter. I just don’t think he’s been in as many big games or fighting for championships as I have been. I think I’m just more experienced, but I don’t think he’s new to the UFC.Finally, if you win this fight, what do you think the UFC should book next? O’Malley, Merab or someone else?I think, realistically, I need one more fight to be able to compete for the title again. But the only fight the fans really want to see is me versus O’Malley.Hope so. If it’s not O’Malley, then I’m open to anyone or any idea because I know I might have a fight left. But that might also change if I actually beat Mario decisively and do something crazy to win. But really, I think I have one more fight left, and I think it should be against O’Malley. I really don’t know who else it would be.(Watch UFC 329 – McGregor vs Holloway 2 live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD (Tamil, Telugu & Kannada) and Sony LIV on 12 July 2026 at 6:30 AM IST)