Cory Sandhagen has a great deal of respect and admiration for MMA legends Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo. That’s why he hopes to get them inside the Octagon for a scrap in the near future.
Cruz (24-3) and Aldo (31-7) are two of the most revered fighters in the UFC. Both have been competing at an elite level for more than a decade, and are seen as maybe the best fighters the bantamweight and featherweight divisions have ever seen. Furthermore, they continued to prove that with both winning multiple fights this year. “Junior” earned a third straight victory when he beat Rob Font in the main event of UFC Vegas 44 earlier this month, and “The Dominator” scored a second consecutive W by beating Pedro Munhoz this past Saturday at UFC 269.
Their ability two remain relevant in the rankings in two different decades is a quality that many fans and fighters admire. And you can count fourth-ranked bantamweight Sandhagen (14-4) among that group. He knows what it takes to compete at the highest levels of the UFC, and appreciates Cruz and Aldo for facing the best of the best consistently for years. It’s why he would relish the opportunity to face off with either man before their days of significance in the sport come to a close.
Cory Sandhagen yearns for a scrap with MMA greats Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo
“I really appreciate guys like that. The Dominick Cruzs and the Jose Aldos. That’s why I think it would be so cool for me to fight them one day. Because they kind of are on the tail-end of their careers, and I really respect the guys that fight all the way up until they can’t anymore,” Sandhagen said during a Wednesday appearance on The MMA Hour.
“To me, that’s just a really admirable thing. And I think that Cruz doing so well against Munhoz just goes to show that the guy has a lot of passion and the guy really loves the sport. And same with Aldo. I have a ton of respect for the guys that stick around for a really long time, because this sport isn’t easy, man, and the guys that they’ve been fighting for years and years and years have not been easy guys. So for them to continue to put themselves in that fire is very, very admirable. So I was happy for Cruz, man.”
Sandhagen actually prefers a fight with Cruz over a matchup with Rob Font
It seems the 29-year-old “Sandman” is an especially big fan of Cruz. A fighter many observers of the sport compared him to when he was a fresh-faced talent in the promotion three years ago. He admires the Californian’s abilities so much that he would be his top choice for his next opponent. Even over fighters like Aldo and Font, who are closer to him in the rankings.
“I’ve always wanted to fight Cruz, man,” Sandhagen said. “I’ve always wanted to fight him. If you’re going to press me real hard, man, he’s probably at the top of my list. Especially because Font wasn’t even really in that fight with Aldo, from my understanding, even though I didn’t watch a ton of it. A lot of the judges had it 50-45, so if that was maybe more of a competitive fight, then Font would definitely interest me.
“Not to take anything away from Font, but Cruz did really well and Cruz is a legend, and he’s someone that I’ve watched and admired for a really long time, so that would be cool.”
Who do you want to see Sandhagen face next? Aldo, Cruz, or Font?
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