Cory Sandhagen has been taken off the upcoming UFC Fight Night 166 card on January 25th in Raleigh, North Carolina after his original match-up fell through.
Sandhagen had been scheduled to welcome Frankie Edgar to the bantamweight division on the card, but the bout had been thrown into doubt after ‘The Answer’ agreed to step in as a short-notice replacement against The Korean Zombie at UFC Fight Night 165 last weekend instead at featherweight.
However, the door had still been left open for the fight to happen if Edgar emerged relatively unscathed from the fight with Jung, but the opposite proved to be true as he was knocked out in the first round and is now expected to serve a lengthy medical suspension.
As such the UFC have decided to pull Sandhagen from the card rather than find him a new opponent.
The 27-year-old Sanhagen was understandably disappointed by the news, which comes as he looked to built on an impressive five-fight winning start to his UFC career, including recent wins over John Linker and Raphael Assuncao.
“Me getting ready to fight Frank and hearing the news this AM,” Sandhagen wrote on Instagram. “I’m not mad – I understand money is a part of life. I just hate that aspect of society and I’m not at a place where dollars are more important then legacy – Frankie’s not in the same boat because he’s already solidified a legacy and I’m bummed I can’t fight such a legend. I trained this AM so I’m not butt hurt anymore – the ship sails on!”
UFC Fight Night 166 now proceeds with a card that will be headlined by heavyweight action between Junior dos Santos and Curtis Blaydes, while Raphael dos Anjos vs. Michael Chiesa is also scheduled for the main card.
