Written by T.J. Dillashaw thinks Cory Sandhagen is a bad matchup for Sean O’Malley.
Sandhagen called for O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) after “The Suga Show” lost his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) by unanimous decision in the UFC 306 main event at Sphere in Las Vegas. Dillashaw thought Dvalishvili made O’Malley look very weak in the fight.
Sandhagen (17-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) thinks fans would salivate for a striking battle between him and O’Malley, but former champion Dillashaw thinks it wouldn’t even be competitive.
“I think he pieces Sean up,” Dillashaw said on the Jaxxon Podcast. “When they were getting ready to give a title fight to someone, I thought that Sandhagen would’ve been a dope fight for him. I think Sandhagen’s just better at what O’Malley is good at, to be honest. He’s just more dangerous. But O’Malley’s got great feints. I would love to see that fight.”
Dillashaw knows first hand how good Sandhagen is on the feet. He fought Sandhagen in July 2021, edging him out in a close decision win by using his grappling.
However, Sandhagen may not get his desired fight with O’Malley just yet, after O’Malley announced that he’s set to undergo surgery Oct. 3 for a torn labrum in his left hip, which he suffered 10 weeks prior to his fight with Dvalishvili.