Outside of the Aljo Cory Sandhagen never been convincingly beaten/dominated.

[AmbassadorFright]

Looking back at his career, outside of the Aljo loss has Sandhagen ever really been outclassed or soundly beaten? His only losses were to Dillashaw (out of prime for sure) which was controversial to say the least as most media sites gave the fight to Sandhagen in damage and Cory returned to the octagon prior to TJ. He lost to Yan 48-47, but it was on less than a week's notice and the fight could have easily been argued in his favor (not a good showing for Yan imo). He then lost another 48-47 to Umar but then again did more damage than Umar did and only lost due to slight control, no damage and 0 submission attempts. At a stretch one might even argue outside that 1 loss he may be undefeated in the UFC. He honestly took more damage in fights he technically won (Vera and Font) than ones he technically lost. Facts indicate that Merab will win an unimpressive 48-47, but he is older and has been hit in the past. I don't think Cory is as dynamic or dangerous as O'Malley in the striking department and not as strong in the TDD department but seems very good at stalling out/frustrating grapplers even when being controlled which must be annoying and could give Merab an annoyingly stubborn fight.

 

[Gabe]

Cory might steal a round hell maybe two, he’s really good at game planning and executing. I think he’ll lose like everyone else though.

 

[Mongoosemk12]

I'd rather see O'malley and Sandhagen at 145 than Sandhagen and Merab, that would be a fun stand up war.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

His loses to Yan an Usman were pretty clear IMO.

 

[Hymen Crusher]

Umar made him look like he was a cut below so did aljo. Dude is fringe 5 at best

 

[markantony20]

Cory is a little overrated imo

He’s obviously good but he hasn’t really stepped up at the elite elite level yet

Time will tell

 

[xhaydenx]

Umar made him look like he was a cut below so did aljo. Dude is fringe 5 at best

More like at least.

Dude can't seem to beat even one single elite opponent, but then gets through everyone else pretty easily enough.

He's the ultimate gatekeeper.

 

[ChrisBenoit]

Yan and Umar clearly beat him.

 

[Hymen Crusher]

More like at least.

Dude can't seem to beat even one single elite opponent, but then gets through everyone else pretty easily enough.

He's the ultimate gatekeeper.

Exactly and thats fine he usually is exciting and brings it. No shame in that at all. I dont think he should be fighting for a title but its merabs fault for beating everyone

 

[gentel]

Yan beat him up quite bad, imo it was a domination and I say that as a Sandhagen fan

He did a lot better against Umar, really if he just had more power he would've won. He did a great job improving his TDD and made it reasonably close

 

[rjmbrd]

Umar made him look like he was a cut below so did aljo. Dude is fringe 5 at best

You are naming two of the absolute best, one of which is no longer in the division.

IMO Sandhagen is solidly top 5. Umar beats everybody other than the current champion, and even that was a razor close fight.

Yan didn't outclass Cory and they had a competitive decision. I think it would be a toss up if they fought again.

 

[mkess101]

The Yan fight was close, people are ridiculous saying otherwise (and yes I think Yan won). Umar won 4-1 imo and was a half step ahead of Corey all the way.

Corey is gonna really surprise people with how good he looks vs Merab imo.

 

[Portland8242]

Get real dude. Corey is no doubt top-5 in the division but he's not the best, and it's been proven multiple times now.

He's a great guy and I'd love to see him win the belt one day but this stylistic clash vs Merab is just a nightmare matchup. Merab may seem dumb outside of fighting but his fight IQ is easily the most underrated aspect of his game, there's simply zero way he's going to succumb to any grappling Sandhagen has to fofer off his back. I really did like how his wrestling looked against Umar but we learned a very stunning reality that Merab's wrestling is even better than Umar's when they fought.

 

[mkess101]

Get real dude. Corey is no doubt top-5 in the division but he's not the best, and it's been proven multiple times now.

He's a great guy and I'd love to see him win the belt one day but this stylistic clash vs Merab is just a nightmare matchup. Merab may seem dumb outside of fighting but his fight IQ is easily the most underrated aspect of his game, there's simply zero way he's going to succumb to any grappling Sandhagen has to fofer off his back. I really did like how his wrestling looked against Umar but we learned a very stunning reality that Merab's wrestling is even better than Umar's when they fought.

Huh? Styles make fights

Merab was outwrestled and clearly lost 2 rounds vs Umar, and then Umar gassed from the pace and THAT is when Merab had success. That's taking nothing away from Merab, the way he weaponizes cardio is amazing. But his wrestling isn't better than Umar's. His cardio and ability to push a pace is.

Merab doesn't overwhelm guys with superior skill. He overwhelms them with grueling pace. The thing is, Corey has elite cardio too. He won't wilt or fade. So while Merab's best weapon can and does allow him to melt guys who are better than he is when both are fresh (Umar), that is unlikely to happen vs another cardio machine like Corey.

 

[jk7707]

His loss to Yan was 49-46. He won the first round. That's it. Yan outclassed him pretty easily.

 

[mkess101]

His loss to Yan was 49-46. He won the first round. That's it. Yan outclassed him pretty easily.

I think I had it 48-47. (I know the judges all had it 49-46, which isn't crazy score either ). Corey outlanded Yan too. Yan won, but it was absolutely competitive.

 

[ThaiSexPills]

He’s a good stepping stone into the top 5 but he lacks that overdrive gear to beat the best.

 

[jk7707]

I think I had it 48-47. (I know the judges all had it 49-46, which isn't crazy score either ). Corey outlanded Yan too. Yan won, but it was absolutely competitive.

I don't know of anyone who scored the fight for Sandhagen. The only moment of the fight that I remember anyone was close to being finished was in the 3rd round when Yan nailed him with a spinning backfist and got the knockdown. It wasn't a complete washing, but Yan convincingly beat him.

 

[mkess101]

I don't know of anyone who scored the fight for Sandhagen. The only moment of the fight that I remember anyone was close to being finished was in the 3rd round when Yan nailed him with a spinning backfist and got the knockdown. It wasn't a complete washing, but Yan convincingly beat him.

It was a clean knockdown but it was never close to being finished then either. Corey had his wits the whole time, he stymied all of Yan's attempts at follow up gnp.

And no, I'm not arguing anyone did or should've score it for Corey. I'm a Corey homer and even I didn't. But while he didn't win, he was absolutely competitive and right in the fight and won 2 rounds imo.

Maybe semantics, but I wouldn't call that a "convincing" win for Yan, although I would say he won fairly clearly.

 

[jk7707]

It was a clean knockdown but it was never close to being finished then either. Corey had his wits the whole time, he stymied all of Yan's attempts at follow up gnp.

And no, I'm not arguing anyone did or should've score it for Corey. I'm a Corey homer and even I didn't. But while he didn't win, he was absolutely competitive and right in the fight and won 2 rounds imo.

Maybe semantics, but I wouldn't call that a "convincing" win for Yan, although I would say he won fairly clearly.

Fair enough. We may have different definitions of "convincingly beaten" but I'd agree that Sandhagen didn't get completely dominated.