Cory Sandhagen says he's accepted a fight against Dominick Cruz for UFC San Diego in May but hasn't gotten a response from the former UFC champion yet.
"We're waiting on him," Sandhagen told theScore on Monday. "It's been a few days so I've just been sitting here with my fingers crossed. He really wants to fight in San Diego. I said, 'I fight in San Diego or wherever.'"
Sandhagen (12-1) was slated to fight Frankie Edgar at UFC Raleigh in January. However, Edgar was unable to compete after he was knocked out in a short-notice opportunity against Chan Sung Jung in December. Sandhagen revealed that in the meantime, he turned down a fight offer in hopes of a matchup with bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling.
"They offered me Pedro Munhoz in February, which I said no to because I figured Aljamain would probably need a fight pretty soon," Sandhagen explained. Sterling defeated Munhoz at UFC 238 in June 2019. "If I could fight Aljamain over Pedro, it's probably worth the wait. Pedro isn't really in the conversation as a contender. I know me, Aljamain, and (Petr) Yan are."
However, Sandhagen said that he ran into Sterling at the UFC Performance Institute last weekend and Sterling didn't offer reassuring news about his recovery from wrist surgery in fall 2019.
"Me and him talked and I think his hand is taking a little bit longer than he thought it takes," Sandhagen said. "So I don't really want to wait for him."
Cruz (22-2) hasn't been a factor in the bantamweight title picture due to inactivity. The Alliance MMA product last fought in December 2016 where he lost his 135-pound title to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207.
The 35-year-old has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and has fought just four times since 2012. Despite that layoff, Sandhagen believes their potential bout could be one of the best matchups in UFC history.
"It would look like a kung fu fight, like straight out of a '90s movie," Sandhagen said. "I think me and Dom both leave with more fans. It could possibly be one of the best fights the UFC has ever seen. And from a technical standpoint, as I would just be so pumped to stand across the cage from him and just see what kind of magic me and him could make ... I think it would be incredible."
Even if the Cruz fight does come to fruition, the Elevation Fight Team product isn't confident it will lead to a title shot.
"I'm not gonna get my hopes up for that, especially the way that things are going," Sandhagen said. "I'm trying not to get too caught up with the whole title thing because that's just setting myself up for a very confusing life."
UFC San Diego takes place May 16 at Pechanga Arena. No main event has been set. However, there are reports that former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier could headline the card against Dan Hooker.
Watch our full video interview with Sandhagen this week on theScoreMMA podcast and subscribe to our YouTube channel here.
