Sean O’Malley, Chael Sonnen offer Cory Sandhagen advice on seeking UFC fame

Sean O’Malley provided some recommendation to Cory Sandhagen after the bantamweight contender stated he was on the lookout for some “well-known man leverage” to get higher alternatives in his profession.

As he recovers from a pair of surgical procedures on his arm, Sandhagen joked he would possibly must get face tattoos – or begin hanging out with well-known rappers – so he might earn preferential remedy from the UFC. The feedback had been made after Sandhagen addressed his previous battle reserving with Umar Nurmagomedov, who holds an ideal 4-0 resume within the UFC however hasn’t but established himself in opposition to one of the best fighters within the division.

“[Umar] has well-known man leverage, good on him,” Sandhagen said referencing Nurmagomedov’s famous last name. “I’m going to attempt to scoop up a few of that well-known leverage this yr in order that there’s no query, ‘Cory fights for the belt subsequent.’”

That caught the eye of the UFC bantamweight champion, who’s making ready to defend his title in a rematch in opposition to Chito Vera in March at UFC 299. He fired again at Sandhagen with a harsh reminder that successful the marquee fights would make a much bigger distinction in his push for a title shot.

“Face tat would possibly assist,” O’Malley wrote on Twitter. “[Knocking out Aljamain Sterling] or beating [Petr Yan] would possibly assist additionally. I don’t know.”

In fact, the 2 fights O’Malley referenced are opponents he defeated – each of whom maintain wins over Sandhagen previously.

O’Malley beat Petr Yan to earn a bantamweight title shot after which knocked out Aljamain Sterling to assert the belt this previous August. In the meantime, Sandhagen suffered a first-round submission loss to Sterling after which fell to Yan in a five-round choice for the interim bantamweight title.

Multi-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen later chimed in when addressing Sandhagen’s remarks about in search of that “well-known man leverage.” He provided a mess of responses — nearly all within the type of a rhyming poem — as he took intention at Sandhagen’s sport plan.

Sonnen had some enjoyable with Sandhagen, however there’s not a lot subtlety in O’Malley’s message. As a result of for all of the grief he caught about being spoon-fed simpler competitors for many of his UFC profession, he gained the fights that mattered most.

As for Sandhagen, he’s at the moment driving a three-fight successful streak and hopes he’ll be thought-about the subsequent in line for the title after O’Malley clashes with Vera at UFC 299.