“He Paid His Consequences” – Cory Sandhagen up for a Fight With T.J. Dillashaw

Cory Sandhagen is coming off a statement win over former title challenger Marlon Moraes. However, he knows that he isn’t getting the next shot at the title. Therefore, he wishes to get another win on his record. As far as the opponent is concerned for the same, he doesn’t mind fighting former champion T.J. Dillashaw, who will be coming off a two-year suspension.

The spinning wheel kick knockout of Moraes has led to Sandhagen sitting on the No. 2 spot in the bantamweight rankings. Ahead of him is the next challenger for the belt, Aljamain Sterling. As Sandhagen has already lost to Sterling, he doesn’t mind ‘The Funk Master’ getting the next title shot against Petr Yan.

“I think that I’m maybe one fight away from being that No. 1 guy. When you kind of look at the division, (Cody) Garbrandt is hurt, and he’s at 125 (pounds) now so that’s not really a possibility. Then you have Frankie (Edgar), who came off of a win against (Pedro) Munhoz, which isn’t like as good a competitor as Marlon. Then you have T.J. that’s coming back in January, who is known as one of the best bantamweights in history,” Sandhagen told MMA Fighting.

T.J. Dillashaw is currently serving a two-year suspension after he tested positive for EPO. He relinquished his bantamweight title in early 2019. The former champ will return to action in January 2021.

Cory Sandhagen willing to fight T.J. Dillashaw irrespective of ‘whatever juice he is on’

Having competed at the professional level at both MMA and kickboxing for over eleven years, Sandhagen is pretty certain that he has fought opponents who were on steroids. He has accepted it as he knows it is a part of the sport.

As far as Dillashaw’s actions are concerned, Sandhagen doesn’t care much about it. He views it as a matter of choice which the former champ made.

“I don’t have any feelings about him being on steroids or whatever. He made that decision himself,” Sandhagen said. “Do I think it’s ethically wrong? Of course, I think it’s ethically wrong, but that was his decision that he made. He paid his consequence and he’s going to have to live with that. I don’t really care what other people do.”

“This guy can be whatever juice he wants to be on or he can be training with the best guys in the world, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m still going to have confidence in myself and that’s where I always put myself before a fight,” he added.

A win over a former champion and one of the best bantamweights of all time could be a very good addition to Sandhagen’s resume. It will also cement his status as the one who will surely fight the winner of Yan vs Sterling.

Read More: BREAKING: T.J. Dillashaw Makes a Huge Statement on UFC Return