Cory Sandhagen wants to be more than just a UFC fighter.
In a matter of weeks, the #4 UFC bantamweight contender will get his first shot at undisputed gold when he takes on champion Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event of UFC 320 on Oct. 4.
It’s been a long time coming for Cory Sandhagen, who has fallen short of the title opportunity on a few different occasions in his UFC run, once losing an interim title fight against Petr Yan in 2021.
Ahead of his title fight with Dvalishvili, the 33-year-old fan-favorite was asked what he would be doing if he wasn’t a UFC fighter.
Cory Sandhagen’s dream is to become a famous comic book writer
Outside of the fight game, Sandhagen actually has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder, but surprisingly his dream job isn’t in that field.
“I think about it all the time,” Sandhagen said of what he sees himself doing besides fighting in an interview with Ramos Law.
“I’m a creative guy so I like doing creative things. I enjoy writing. I’m really into reading and comic books and stuff like that.
“So I have this like fantasy of maybe being like a famous comic book writer one day,” Sandhagen revealed.
“I enjoy doing that… other than that, I don’t really know what I like. It’s pretty much just those two things.
“It took me a couple years,” Sandhagen said of the comic book writing process.
“I read this in a book one time. Anytime I get stressed, I just try to really dive into doing something creative and just making something. And I just started doing that a couple years ago, and it’s kinda just turned into a really fun new hobby for myself,” said Sandhagen.
Cory Sandhagen has won four out of his last five fights
‘Sandman’ nearly earned a title opportunity in August of last year when he faced off against the then undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.
Sandhagen entered the five-round main event of UFC Abu Dhabi on a three-fight win streak, with impressive victories over the likes of Song Yadong, Chito Vera, and Rob Font.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Sandhagen’s night as Nurmagomedov defeated him via unanimous decision.
The top contender reemerged in the title picture by TKO’ing former two-time champ Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines in May. It wasn’t your ordinary highlight, however, as Sandhagen popped Figueiredo’s knee while they were in a 50-50 position on the ground.
Sandhagen is one of the best tacticians in the UFC bantamweight division and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles ‘The Machine’, Merab Dvalishvili.