Cory Sandhagen calls UFC’s decision to grant Henry Cejudo immediate title shot ‘a bit lame’

Cory Sandhagen is still pondering why Henry Cejudo is retiring when the former two-division champion is still aiming for a title. Cejudo retired after defending his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz in May 2020. Three years later, Henry is trying to regain the belt he never lost by challenging champion Aljamain Sterling in the May 6th UFC 288 headliner.

Sandhagen doesn’t think Cejudo’s return to the top of the division will affect him directly, but he doesn’t like it when he skips the line. During Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference for UFC on ESPN 43, Sandhagen told the media:

“You shouldn’t be able to jump out of retirement and fight for a belt. That seems a bit lame to me. You shouldn’t have come back in the first place if that was the case. That’s my opinion on that. As long as I’m not the one going up against Cejudo for the next title shot, which I don’t feel, I might not care.”

Sandhagen, who faces Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in a crucial bantamweight duel in Saturday’s headlining UFC on ESPN 43, is a tie over the potential victor between Sterling and Cejudo.

However, Sandhagen sees how former Olympic gold medalist Cejudo can negate Sterling’s greatest advantage, saying:

“It’s an exciting fight. You get two guys who are good at wrestling and usually you get a not-so-great kickboxing match, which it could be. But I could also see Cejudo using his takedown to nullify tight rounds. That will probably be his route to victory.”

“He’ll try to get a few takedowns – not messing around with Aljamain on the ground too much, but nullifying the shot, which I think will probably be pretty close. It’s a difficult question. I have yet to learn what Cejudo is up to besides making YouTube videos. It will be interesting to see that.”

Where does Cory Sandhagen stand in the bantamweight cover photo?

The Colorado-born fighter has faced some big challenges lately. He competed against the likes of Petr Yan and TJ Dillashaw but failed to secure the win. His impressive performances and willingness to take on challenges likely earned him another highly skilled opponent like Vera.

On Saturday some BEST from the bantamweight meet 🔥@ChitoVeraUFC vs @CorySandhagen in our #UFCSanAntonio main event! pic.twitter.com/5prZybFeBz

— UFC (@ufc) March 21, 2023

Unfortunately, a win here doesn’t automatically propel the “Sandman” into another shot at the 135-pound belt. Competitors like Sean O’Malley seem to be next in line given the immense star power they bring to the Octagon, as opposed to someone like Cory. However, only a couple of victories should be enough for the former title contender.

Between Cory and Chito, who do you think will win?