Cory Sandhagen is giving Umar Nurmagomedov his flowers.
The longtime bantamweight contender lost a hard-fought decision to Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, putting his bantamweight title plans on hold once again. Sandhagen entered Saturday’s contest on a three-fight win streak, including a victory over recent title challenger Marlon Vera, but the loss to Nurmagomedov likely sends Sandhagen back to the middle of the pack for now.