Sean O’Malley Gets Support From Cory Sandhagen

Following Sean O’Malley’s UFC 316 defeat, Cory Sandhagen told MMAFighting.com that he empathizes with “Suga” on changing things in his life only to not enjoy those benefits inside the Octagon.

“I kind of feel for Sean,” Sandhagen said. “Sean’s one of those guys that kind of thinks about life in terms of a journey and all of that stuff and I can relate to that big time. So I know the feeling of changing a lot of stuff about your life in hopes that it will translate over into fighting and then also hope that you’ll get a good result from it. It sucks that life doesn’t always work like that. So I kind of feel for him a little bit.”

As far as whether or not O’Malley can get back on the horse, Sandhagen won’t doubt “Suga’s” comeback journey.

“I think he does,” Sandhagen answered. “O’Malley kind of gets labeled as a star first before he gets labeled as a good fighter. I think O’Malley’s a really, really good fighter. He’s a super athletic guy, also, so when you’re that athletic, you’re capable of making a lot of changes in your game and stuff.

“If you don’t pick things up very quickly, it can be hard to change. But Sean definitely has that ability, just him being a really good athlete so I think he definitely can.”

Sandhagen is a heavy favorite to be the new No. 1 contender for the bantamweight title. After Dvalishvili submitted O’Malley, he had a staredown inside the Octagon with Sandhagen. The two were cordial during their faceoff and showed mutual respect.