Cory Sandhagen slams Sean O’Malley for taking ‘low-risk’ fights: “It’s a lame way to go about things”

Cory Sandhagen believes Sean O’Malley has been sidestepping him.

O’Malley is scheduled to compete on the UFC Freedom 250 card, but he won’t be sharing the Octagon with Sandhagen. Instead, the “Sugar” show will collide with Aiemann Zahabi, who is riding a seven-fight winning streak. Sandhagen has long been pounding the table for a fight with O’Malley, and the Freedom 250 announcement left him feeling disappointed.

Speaking to James Lynch for Home of Fight, Sandhagen shared a theory on why he isn’t fighting O’Malley next.

“I think I’m a tough fight for him,” Sandhagen said. “Sean’s whole thing is keeping space and being long and fighting from the outside. Against me, he won’t be able to do that. Sean’s really good at low-risk, high-reward types of matches, which is a shame because I don’t think that really speaks to people and the fans as much as big risks.

“I remember I was probably the biggest fan of O’Malley when he stepped up to fight Yan, and then when he fought Sterling. Even though he had an entire year to get ready for Sterling and Sterling was being active during that time. Even then, Sean was most inspiring and most impressive when he was stepping up to the plate.”

Sandhagen isn’t sold that he wasn’t an option for O’Malley to fight at the White House on June 14.

“It’s just kind of a lame way to go about doing things, in my opinion,” Sandhagen said.

O’Malley has insisted that he was never offered a fight with Sandhagen, and he simply accepted what was presented to him by UFC matchmakers. If the former UFC Bantamweight Champion handles business against Zahabi, it’ll be interesting to see if the Sandhagen booking will come to fruition.

What do you make of Cory Sandhagen’s comments about Sean O’Malley? Do you agree or disagree? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.