Cory Sandhagen believes Sean O'Malley will get the job done against Aiemann Zahabi when the two bantamweights meet at Freedom 250 on June 14.
Former UFC bantamweight champion O'Malley (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) is set to face the sixth-ranked Zahabi (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) at the White House event as he looks to reestablish himself in the title picture at 135 pounds.
Sandhagen (18-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) had hoped to be the one sharing the cage with O'Malley at the historic event, but after missing out on that matchup, he is scheduled to face Mario Bautista (17-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) at UFC 329 on July 11.
Despite his disappointment, Sandhagen is confident that O'Malley has the skills needed to emerge victorious, although he expects Zahabi to present more challenges than many people anticipate.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Sandhagen explained why he sees O'Malley as the favorite.
"I think O'Malley will almost certainly win, but Zahabi is definitely... I've watched a lot of Zahabi's fights just because in my head I was like, 'He's not matched up so maybe they'll do me and Zahabi,'" Sandhagen said. "So I watched a bunch of Zahabi and I think he's going to be a harder problem to solve than Sean gives him credit for."
While praising Zahabi's skill set, Sandhagen believes O'Malley's overall ability will ultimately be the deciding factor.
"But also, Sean's very, very good," he continued. "I think he's a lot better than all of the other guys Zahabi has fought and I think that Sean will win simply because he's better than him."
Sandhagen noted that Zahabi's style could create some difficult moments for O'Malley throughout the fight, particularly if the former champion becomes overly focused on finding the perfect opening.
"Zahabi's going to be a tricky problem to solve and Sean I think struggles with that at times," Sandhagen said. "Sean can be a little too much of a perfectionist, and I think that works against him, so he'll have to deal with that."
Even so, Sandhagen expects O'Malley to find a way to secure the victory and move one step closer to another shot at UFC gold.
"But even with that, I think he'll win," Sandhagen added.
A victory over Zahabi would strengthen O'Malley's case for a return to title contention in the bantamweight division, while Zahabi has the opportunity to score the biggest win of his career and vault himself into the championship conversation.
