Cory Sandhagen says he was offered Dominick Cruz and he’s accepted

Cory Sandhagen has revealed that the UFC have made him an offer to fight former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, which he has accepted.

Sandhagen has suggested that the pair could co-headline the UFC San Diego in California on May 16, 2020. This would mean that Sandhagen would be fighting Cruz in his hometown. He made the announcement on his official Instagram yesterday. See what Sandhagen wrote below:

“Verified I said yes.. waiting on you @dominickcruz – it would be an honor man. Co-main in San Diego?”

Sandhagen was initially expected to face the former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in his bantamweight debut, back in in January. The fight didn’t materialise and Edgar went on to fight “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung on short-notice at featherweight, after “KZ” was left without an opponent for UFC Busan.

The bantamweight contender is ranked No. 4 in the division, riding a 7-fight winning streak with victories over the likes of Raphael Assunção, John Lineker, Mario Bautista, Iuri Alcântara, Austin Arnett and others. He has established himself as a solid contender in the bantamweight division.

Meanwhile, Dominick Cruz hasn’t competed inside the Octagon since losing his UFC bantamweight title to Cody Garbrandt, back in December of 2016. Cruz is widely regarded as the greatest bantamweight fighter in MMA history. He has been booked for a return fight twice since his last Octagon appearance, against Jimmie Rivera and John Lineker, respectively. Cruz was forced to pull out from both contests due to suffering injuries in training.

The bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is scheduled to defend his title against the former featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 250 in Brazil this May. Other contenders in the division, like Petr Yan and Marlon Moraes have been booked to fight later this year, most likely for the next shot at the UFC bantamweight title shot. This leaves the highly ranked bantamweight Aljamain Sterling without an opponent. In the case of Dominick Cruz not accepting the bout against Sandhagen, he could look to fight Sterling instead.

This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 10th March, 2020.