Cory Sandhagen has spent years tossing around the UFC bantamweight title image without blossoming. He’s challenged for championship gold twice, missed out twice, and now finds himself in familiar territory – needing another statement win in one of the promotion’s deepest divisions.His mission at International Fight Week is a familiar face. Seven years after submitting Mario Bautista in Bautista’s third UFC appearance, Sandhagen meets him again in a fight that carries far greater consequences than their first ever meeting.The matchup comes with contrasting narratives. Bautista framed it as a fighting advantage and vowed to pursue a finish. Sandhagen doesn’t buy that assessment.In an exclusive conversation with Timesofindia.com, Sandhagen discusses how Bautista has evolved since their first meeting, why he’s giving up the fight narrative, the lessons from his last title defeat, and why he believes a showdown with Sean O’Malley makes the most sense if he beats Bautista.Excerpts: This is a rematch with Mario after seven years. How different is it now compared to the rookie you faced in 2019?I think he’s a much better fighter now. I think we are both. He has come a long way, and I think it will be a challenging fight.Mario says he’s chasing the finish and sees this as a lack of fight. How do you react to this kind of public assessment of the struggle?I think Mario has shown almost no great offensive fight that I’ve seen. He edged out Umar by a much larger margin. It was held back, while I got knocked down a bunch of times but got right back up every time. So I don’t know what he’s talking about.What do you see as Mario’s greatest strength, and how do you plan to neutralize it?I think Mario’s greatest strength is that he is a really hardworking man. He has a lot of self-belief, and he doesn’t give up. I plan to counter this by being the same, while also being more technical, more qualified and more hardworking than him.You had spectacular finishes against guys like Edgar and Moraes, as well as tactical wins over opponents like Font. How do you decide, fight by fight, whether to go for the fireworks or to establish a controlled victory?You always try to win with fireworks, but sometimes the other guy does really good things and you’re not able to get him out of there. That’s just how it goes.
Cory Sandhagen against Merab Dvalishvili (AP Photo)
After UFC 320 [Merab Dvalishvili]you said the fight was absolutely winnable. What specifically went wrong, and how did you address it in preparation for Mario?I think if I had a better second time, I would have done well. There were also some technical errors that I made that are pretty easy to fix, and I think would have changed the outcome of the fight. So he really got to those technical mistakes and didn’t get hurt as badly in the second round.You were one of the top bantamweights for years. How much of this fight is to prove to yourself that you can still handle the new wave of fighters as Mario, not just the older contenders?I think I only have a few more fights than Mario, so I don’t really see him as an up and coming guy. I think he’s been in the UFC for a long time now. Maybe I’ve only been in the UFC a year or two longer than him.
Mario Bautista (Special Arrangements)
So I don’t really see him as an up and coming fighter. I just see him as someone who hasn’t been in as many big fights as I have and hasn’t fought for titles. I think I’m simply more experienced, but I don’t see him as a UFC newcomer.Finally, if you win this fight, what do you think the UFC should book next? O’Malley, Merab again, or someone else?I think, realistically, I still have one more fight before I can fight for the title again. But the only fight the fans really want to see is me vs. O’Malley.I hope it will be so. If it’s not O’Malley, then I’m open to anyone or any idea because I know I probably have one more fight left. But if he beats Mario really decisively and does something crazy to win, that could change too. Realistically, though, I think I have one more fight, and I think it should be against O’Malley. I don’t really know who else there would be.(Watch UFC 329 – McGregor vs Holloway 2 on July 12, 2026, from 6:30 AM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD (Tamil, Telugu and Kannada) and Sony LIV)