Cory Sandhagen also known as ‘Sandman’ with a 17-4-0 record is a fighter who is multitalented and marvellous. He not only can throw powerful jabs and punches but is also educated to understand the mind. The fighter with a psychology degree from the University of Colorado is shaking up the MMA world. From playing basketball in his youth to transitioning into kickboxing and then MMA, it was a long and hard journey. ‘Sandman’ had many people backing him up and helping him become his best version.

So let’s look at the coaches and trainers who have helped him in the past and the gym where he trains now. Let’s journey into the fighter’s training styles and more!

Cory Sandhagen starts training with Trevor Wittman

Sandhagen who is notoriously known for getting a lot of tattoos is also well known for his versatile striking arsenal. The bantamweight is amazing on his own but his skills are honed by coaches like Trevor Wittman. Wittman is a boxing and MMA coach who was forced to retire from boxing after being diagnosed with a hyperinflated lung. He founded T’s K.O. Fight Club in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and now trains Sandhagen among other veteran fighters. He is also a part of ONX Sports and has won awards for his coaching.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Sandhagen showed his fighting vlog and training for the day. Here he can be seen training with Wittman and he said a lot of good things about his coach. He said, “Working with Trevor is awesome, he is really good about like just, repping, and repping and repping certain movements.” He said that Wittman is so good at making him practice the smallest moves that it becomes muscle memory and he can execute the move perfectly inside the octagon.

Sandhagen is good at both orthodox and southpaw styles of fighting which keeps his opponents guessing about his next move. He started training with Wittman 3 months ago and has been practicing with him since his UFC on ABC main event on August 5th last year. Apart from that he also trains with Elevation Fight Team as well.

Who are Cory Sandhagen’s teammates at Elevation Fight Team?

The Elevation Fight Team consists of Carrington Banks as the coach, Christian Allen as the owner, and Justin Houghton as a coach as well. ‘Sandman’ trains with this team as well and has trained with them for a long time. The Colorado-based squad is a vast collection of fighting and coaching talent that is spread across the greater Denver area and comes together to form the strongest teams.

There are fighters like Christian Allen, Vinnie Lopez, Justin Houghton, Eliot Marshall, and Peter Straub on the team. It even includes Neil Magny, Justin Gaethje, and Curtis Blaydes. These talented people nourish each other’s skill sets and fighting styles so that each fighter can perform the best inside the octagon.

Interestingly, ‘Sandman’ not only trains with coaches but is also a renowned coach himself. The top bantamweight fighter trains in his gym called HAMA and even, makes videos for training fighters.  

Is Cory Sandhagen a coach himself?

He teaches MMA at High Altitude Martial Arts in Aurora, Colorado, and also used to work part-time at a children’s trauma center. His degree in psychology helps him understand who has potential in what kind of fighting style. His striking potential is unmatched and has outstruck most of his UFC opponents.

He started taekwondo when he was 6 and he loved throwing punches which were not allowed in this martial arts form. So he decided to switch to boxing and that is when he decided to go into combat sports. ‘Sandman’ was an avid fan of WEC and he decided to go into MMA. He opened his training center at the tender age of 17 and he was always found at the gym after school and never took a day off from training.

He said on the official page of HAMA about his degree and boxing life. He said, “I moved to Boulder to get my Psychology degree and studied at the Easton BJJ in Boulder until I moved back down here.”  His goal as a coach is to see how special HAMA is and to realize that whatever goal they come up with, they will surpass it with HAMA. He wants to make his students feel at home.

His gym has the top-notch guys in the game and has immense knowledge of combat sports. The coaches are passionate and are always learning. Not only does he coach but he once left the AKA staff in awe. During a podcast with John McCarthy and, Josh Thomson they discussed a story of Sandhagen shocking the staff of AKA. Thomson shared, continued, “So he’s like, ‘Yeah, two AKA guys went out there and they were training, they were just doing some sparring. These guys are good wrestlers…” They were training and they go, ‘Who the hell is that little guy right there? F**king piecing me up.’ This was before they had known who Cory was in the UFC.” Sandhagen was still not in UFC at that time and he was already a force to be reckoned with.

His stories of amazing prowess and strikes surely show how hard he trains and how he has the best coaches helping him. On that note, let’s wait and see how he performs at UFC Saudi Arabia on August 3.