Scouting Report: Cory Sandhagen

Cory Sandhagen

Born: April 20, 1992 (Age: 30) in Aurora, Colorado
Division: Bantamweight
Height: 5’11”
Reach: 70”
Record: 14-4 (7-3 UFC)
Association: Elevation Fight Team
Stage of Career: Prime

Summary: Sandhagen is a physical mismatch for almost anyone at bantamweight due to his height and reach, but he is also a ridiculously skilled mixed martial artist in terms of striking and grappling. He is dangerous and dynamic with punches, kicks and knees, all of which he can use to hurt or knock out opponents at any time. Meanwhile, he not only utilizes his length well, but his defense is quite good, making him a nightmare to exchange with on the feet. However, there is little respite in the grappling department, as his knees in the clinch are lethal and he offers sound defensive wrestling and excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu. If an opponent does get Sandhagen down, he is one of the best in the world at immediately exploding back to his feet. Despite likely having to cut a great deal of weight to stay at 135 pounds, he has stellar cardio and an iron chin, along with fast recuperative powers. It has taken either a top striker, like Petr Yan, or an elite grappler, like Aljamain Sterling, to beat him, and he continues to show signs of improvement.

STRIKING

• Stance: Constantly switches but mostly throws punches from orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Average.
• Jab: Sold due to his technique, its straightness and his ridiculous length, but it lacks speed and power.
• Cross: Accurate, sudden and technical, and while it can also be aimed nicely at the body, it only possesses average speed and power.
• Left Hook: Proficient, with proper rotation and arc, along with some power. A plus that he goes to the body with it, too.
• Overhand Right: Does not throw one, which makes sense given his advantages in height and reach.
• Uppercuts: Does not utilize them because he is almost always the taller and longer fighter.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Generally more of a one-shot sniper, but he can open up with the right opponent or situation.
• Favorite Combinations: The traditional one-two, which he throws fluidly.
• Leg Kicks: Fast and sudden but lacking the power necessary to be truly great.
• Body Kicks: Superb, highlighted by a powerful and technical front kick he uses to tremendous effect.
• Head Kicks: He rarely uses them, but when he does, the results can often be spectacular, as seen in his wheel kick finish of Marlon Moraes.
• Knees: Some of the best in the sport—a completely unexpected, explosive, accurate and powerful blow he can throw at range.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: Does so with conviction.

Sandhagen’s striking presents a monstrous challenge to anyone he faces, and only the superlative Yan has managed to solve it thus far. His hands, legs and knees are all lethal weapons with which he can punish an opponent, all while being out of return-fire range due to his massive advantages in height and reach. His left hooks, a dizzying array of kicks and devastating knees have resulted in a number of finishes. He is also difficult to hit because of solid defensive instincts and distance control. In addition, he uses feints effectively and possesses sound footwork.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Passable.
• Technique: Textbook.
• Knees: A tremendous weapon that discourages all but the best grapplers from clinching with him in the first place.
• Elbows: Rarely throws them.
• Defense Against Knees and Elbows: Sound enough that no opponent has truly abused him with such strikes.

Sandhagen is difficult to take down in the clinch, though Sterling showed it was certainly possible. However, if a quick takedown fails to materialize, opponents would be wise to back away before they get caught with one of the Colorado native’s hellacious knees.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: He generally only does so when hurt and wants to buy time. He has not enjoyed much success against elite-caliber opposition.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Knows the fundamentals and can execute trips against weaker grapplers.
• Takedown Defense: Features a gorgeous switch, though the best wrestlers can get him down.
• Ability to Return to Feet: An all-time great in this area, with instant explosions to his feet and some beautiful technique in getting back up in virtually any scenario.
• Submissions: Capable of schooling anyone whose Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills are not up to snuff in impressive fashion, as shown with his beautiful armbar of Mario Bautista.
• Defense and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Excellent, in general, and almost never finds himself down for long.
• Top Control: Difficult to say, as he does not pursue takedowns against his current level of opposition.
• Ground-and-Pound: He can land hard shots and finish off opponents he has already hurt on the feet.

Sandhagen is an astute grappler. He is difficult to take down, fantastic at getting back up and flexes beautiful Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. Sterling, the absolute best grappler in the entire division, managed to get a quick submission against him, but Sandhagen has likely improved in the time that has passed since. Virtually everyone else has failed to achieve much success at his expense, including T.J. Dillashaw. Offensively, he can dominate lacking grapplers and put away compromised opponents with his ground-and-pound. He has some offensive wrestling, too, but at his current elite level of competition, he mostly just uses it to buy time when he gets hurt.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism and General Physical Strength: Despite being so tall and long for the weight class, he moves fluidly and fast enough, and he has above-average strength when compared to other UFC bantamweights.
• Cardio: Only slows down slightly in the later rounds of exhausting battles against conditioning machines like Yan and Dillashaw.
• Chin: Durable, as proven when he absorbed some monster shots from the likes of Yan and John Lineker.
• Recuperative Powers: Stellar. He was hurt by Yan on more than one occasion but managed to get back into the battle quickly.
• Intelligence: Consistently makes smart decisions, capitalizes on opponents’ mistakes, buys himself time when in trouble and shows considerable improvement from fight to fight.