In his first fight in nearly one year, Cory Sandhagen will compete in his sixth straight five-round fight against Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC on ABC 7. Though Sandhagen is the more experienced fighter and former interim title challenger, Nurmagomedov opens as a sizeable betting favorite. ‘The Young Eagle’ gets much of his nickname and much of his fame from his relation to retired former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, his older cousin. However, the hype is not only due to his last name as the Dagestani has lived up to expectations with a 17-0 professional record entering his first main event.
Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov Tale of the Tape
| Cory Sandhagen | Umar Nurmagomedov | |
| 17-4 | Record | 17-0 |
| 10-3 | UFC Record | 5-0 |
| 32 | Age | 28 |
| 5’11″ | Height | 5’8″ |
| 70 inches | Reach | 69 inches |
| Elevation Fight Team
ONX Sports |
Team | Eagles MMA
American Kickboxing Academy |
| Trevor Wittman | Head Coach | Javier Mendez |
| W3 | Streak | W17 |
Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov Fight Statistics
View the statistics for each fighter as they appear on UFC Stats ahead of their main event meeting at UFC 304:
| Cory Sandhagen | Umar Nurmagomedov | |
| 5.33 | Significant Strikes Landed per Minute | 4.79 |
| 44% | Striking Accuracy | 69% |
| 3.4 | Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute | 0.56 |
| 58% | Striking Defense | 76% |
| 1.36 | Takedown Average | 4.51 |
| 33% | Takedown Accuracy | 56% |
| 64% | Takedown Defense | 100% |
| 0.3 | Submission Average | 0.6 |
| 13:34 | Average Fight Time | 9:19 |
Cory Sandhagen’s Last Fight
Though his win over Marlon Vera in March 2023 was arguably enough to give him a title shot against then-champion Aljamain Sterling, Sandhagen was the unfortunate victim of the situation and forced to headline another Fight Night card five months later against Rob Font. Sandhagen originally signed to fight Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC San Antonio but an injury removed the Russian from the matchup.
For the third straight fight, Sandhagen used a wrestling-heavy game plan to thwart almost all offensive attacks of Font to win a unanimous decision. Across 25 minutes, Sandhagen allowed Font to land just nine significant strikes while accruing nearly 20 minutes of control time.
The win was heavily criticized by UFC CEO Dana White for the lack of action but Sandhagen would announce on social media after the fight that he fully tore his tricep in the first round, forcing him to lean on his grappling attack without the use of one arm. Since losing a competitive decision to Petr Yan for the interim bantamweight title at UFC 267, Sandhagen has gone on a three-fight win streak leading into the matchup with Nurmagomedov with a potential undisputed title shot on the line for the winner.
Umar Nurmagomedov’s Last Fight
With his last name and family lineage, Nurmagomedov was immediately given lofty expectations from the moment he made his professional debut in 2016. So far, everything has gone nearly according to plan for the bantamweight prospect who has yet to lose a fight. However, despite being ranked No. 10 in the UFC bantamweight division, Nurmagomedov has yet to beat a ranked opponent with his last win coming against the debuting Bekzat Almakhan at UFC Vegas 87.
The final result of his fight with Almakhan was fairly one-sided with Nurmagomedov sweeping the scorecards and recording multiple 10-8 rounds but it was not without its adversity. The 28-year-old was knocked down for the first time in the UFC in the first 10 seconds of the fight with the first punch Almakhan landed. He was quickly able to turn a negative into a positive by immediately completing a single-leg takedown but the moment caused a lot of questions from fans.
Key Statistics
Both fighters in this main event are extremely well-rounded but Umar Nurmagomedov has made no secret to what his game plan consistently will be. While he is a significantly more talented striker than any other fighter in his family, Nurmagomedov is still a wrestler at heart who has landed 14 takedowns in his five previous UFC fights.
Cory Sandhagen has shown his competent wrestling ability in his last two fights but has found most of his success in the UFC with his striking. At 5-foot-11, Sandhagen poses a physical threat as a bantamweight and has only been submitted once in his career by former champion Aljamain Sterling. Before his two recent wins over Marlon Vera and Rob Font, Sandhagen picked up his three previous wins by knockout.
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