Cory Sandhagen reacts to news that Sean O’Malley will be fighting Marlon Vera at UFC 299: “That’s a bummer. March? Damn.”

UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen has given his thoughts on the announced title showdown between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera.

Last night, UFC president Dana White announced that Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera will battle it out over the UFC bantamweight championship at UFC 299. While many are excited about their rematch, others wonder whether or not Vera has earned the right to get such a fight. While he did beat Pedro Munhoz in his last outing, it wasn’t overly convincing, and he lost fairly convincingly to Cory Sandhagen prior to that.

RELATED: MARLON VERA REACTS AFTER BOOKING SEAN O’MALLEY REMATCH AT UFC 299: “TIME TO TAKE THE GARBAGE OUT”

Sandhagen, meanwhile, is riding a three-fight win streak. As you can imagine, he isn’t particularly pleased with the nature of this matchmaking.

NEW: @corysandhagen reacts to the news about O’Malley-Vera for the bantamweight title and the fight being in March.

“March? Why March? Fight earlier so I can fight earlier.” pic.twitter.com/nxJ2us2svF

— Luke Thomas🏋️‍♀️ (@lthomasnews) November 6, 2023

Sandhagen’s confusion

“Why March? Fight earlier so that I can fight earlier.”

“I don’t think it’s the most favorable match-up for O’Malley, but I still think that O’Malley will likely win. March? I was hoping that they’d fight in January and then I’d be able to come back in like April or May or something.”

Sandhagen was then asked if this means he’ll take another fight in the meantime.

“I’ll see what they say, I guess. Yeah, I dunno, that’s a bummer. March? Damn.”

While Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling are also waiting in the wings, this does leave plenty of questions for the UFC to answer. Sandhagen has always been a top prospect and while a few of his wins haven’t exactly been barnburners recently, he has the potential to do some real damage in a high-level title fight.

Do you agree with the comments made by Cory Sandhagen? What is your early prediction for the collision between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera? Let us know your thoughts on this, BJPENN Nation!