Cory Sandhagen rebounded from his first-round submission loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 250 with a sensational knockout win over Marlon Moraes. Sandhagen landed flush with a spinning wheel kick and ended Moraes’ night in the second round. Considering how Moraes is always a bubble contender for the title, Sandhagen is looking at his prospects for a championship fight.

While there is a logjam of elite talent at bantamweight, Sandhagen made a strong case for himself. However, he lost to Sterling in the fight before this. Nonetheless, he feels like he can get a title shot after ‘Funk Master’ faces the current champion, Petr Yan.

Sandhagen spoke about all of this in his post-fight interview with Dan Hardy.

“The only other guys that have an argument is TJ when he gets back in January and Frankie. All the respect to both those guys, but I want that belt. Those are the only two guys ahead of me, and then I want the winner of Yan and Sterling.”

Cory Sandhagen: The next title contender?

While Sandhagen did have a spectacular win, the odds of him getting a title fight immediately are slim. We are yet to see the Sterling-Yan booking happen, and there are other contenders that are still around. Jose Aldo is yet to fight after losing the title fight to Yan. T.J. Dillashaw will return to the division soon, and he has a claim to the championship he never lost. Cody Garbrandt’s status in the division is unclear, and Pedro Munhoz is also still rising.

However, Sandhagen beat the top-ranked fighter, Marlon Moraes. However, ‘Magics’s’ success has had a cloud over it because of the controversial Jose Aldo win. That win was so inconclusive that Aldo got the title shot against ‘No Mercy’ before Moraes. With this loss, Moraes is bound to drop a few spots.

Sandhagen probably won’t get a clear path to the title. It seems like he may just become the one to welcome T.J. Dillashaw back to the octagon. After another win against a name like that, Sandhagen’s claims for a title shot could have more weight.