Cory Sandhagen reveals “fully torn tricep” injury in first round against Rob Font at UFC Nashville
Cory Sandhagen recently revealed that he suffered a horrible injury during his fight against Rob Font last weekend. ‘The Sandman’ faced Font at UFC on ESPN 50 in Nashville in an uneventful three-round bantamweight contest.
While Sandhagen secured a crucial unanimous decision victory, his performance was widely criticized for being boring. The bantamweight, who’s widely known for his striking skills, chose to wrestle his opponent for the majority of the fight. He picked up nearly 20 minutes of control time in the 25-minute contest, resulting in some of the lowest combined striking numbers in UFC history.
Cory Sandhagen recently took to Instagram to offer an explanation for his grappling-heavy strategy. He revealed that he suffered a fully torn tricep muscle in the first round of the fight, which left him unable to strike effectively. In his post, he wrote:
“Fully torn tricep in Round 1. Wasn’t able to punch or elbow with that arm without pain and it feeling like shit. Did what I had to do to win that night. Surgery this week – back soon! PEACE – LOVE YOU”
Apart from surgery and physical rehab, Sandhagen has also been suspended for 180 days by the Tennessee Athletic Commission and will need to be cleared by a doctor before getting returning to active competition.
Aljamain Sterling on Cory Sandhagen vs. Rob Font at UFC on ESPN 50
Aljamain Sterling wasn’t impressed by Cory Sandhagen’s performance against Rob Font. The reigning bantamweight champion recently took to social media to make his thoughts on the fight known and lambasted ‘The Sandman’ for not capitalizing on his opportunities.
Sterling fought Sandhagen back in June 2020 and managed to beat the Colorado native via first-round submission. Being familiar with Sandhagen’s game, ‘Funk Master’ knew he could’ve done more in the fight despite his injury.
In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Aljamain Sterling accused Cory Sandhagen of playing it too safe. He said:
“I was honestly disappointed with his [Rob Font] lack of ability to get back to his feet… That’s tough, man. I know it was a short notice thing. Both guys had to make big adjustments but Font, he wanted it. Sandhagen, he wanted it. But the difference is that nobody showed that they want the next title shot with a definitive win.”
He added:
“The only thing that I will say is, [Sandhagen] had positions where he could have capitalized and done a lot of cool things with the dominant positions that he had and he just kinda chose to stay on top and just coast his way to the finish.”
Watch the full video below: