When it comes to being a unique personality in combat sports, fighters choose a set of nicknames that describe them best. While most fighters use some remarkable nicknames, Cory Sandhagen chose ‘Sandman’ as his moniker. The 32-year-old bantamweight fighter likes to live his life in modesty and simpler away from the glam of media attention. In addition, to cementing his status as one of the best bantamweights of all time, Sandhagen likes to spend his time helping abused and neglected kids.

Many fans in the combat sports community might wonder, why Sandhagen likes to call himself ‘Sandman’. Is there any reference to Spider-Man’s supervillain Sandman? Well, the reality might surprise you a bit, so let us dive deep into it to understand the logic.

Why is Cory Sandhagen called ‘Sandman’?

Born on April 20, 1992, in Aurora Colorado, Cory Sandhagen started his martial arts training when he was a kid. He was a part of his basketball team back in Smoky Hill High School. Later as he went further down his adolescence, Sandhagen switched from kickboxing. The fighter won multiple titles WKA titles including a WKA World title. Soon after, he transitioned to MMA and he has not looked back since then.

Interestingly, his moniker ‘Sandman’ traces back its origin to his childhood. While having a conversation with Chris Van Vliet on his podcast, ‘Sandman’ explained what’s the real reason behind his moniker, “I’ve actually always kind of been called that. It doesn’t really have any character meaning. When I was a kid, my teachers always used to sing the Mr Sandman song. So that was a bit where it used to start.”

With a name like that, many fans would put their money on him using Metallica’s hit song ‘Enter Sandman’ as his entrance music, right? The opportunity is right there. But no. Sandhagen has strong opinions about that.

He further added, “People also used to call me sandy, which I didn’t really dig. I’m never coming out to Enter Sandman by Metallica, it wouldn’t be true to myself. My Instagram handle actually comes from Enter The Dragon, which is my favorite movie.”  Well, now that we know the reason why he calls himself  ‘Sandman’, let us have a look at why he started his MMA journey.

Why did Cory Sandhagen choose MMA? The UFC star answers

Cory Sandhagen started his legitimate professional career with Legacy Fighting Alliance. He made his debut under the promotion back on February 24, 2017. He fought against Jamall Emmers, however, he lost the bout by way of a unanimous decision. UFC clinched ‘Sandman’ back in 2018 when he was winning back-to-back fights, amassing a 6-1 record. Well, Sandhagen has been fighting for quite some time now but why did he start fighting?

The fighter answered the question when he sat alongside Chris Van Vliet on his podcast. “It was probably when I was 18 years old. I had started training when I was 17. But before that, I was doing some boxing and taekwondo, I actually grew up playing basketball. We were always a competitive basketball family, my sister was a basketball player too, so not playing basketball was never an option. I tried to make that suggestion to my mum when I was a senior in high school. She told me if I have to wear a singlet, then I’m not allowed to wrestle. So we stuck with basketball and I had been training for about a year,” said Sandhagen.

He further added, “I had a best friend who lost his life when we were both 18. I realized really quick that all of this can be taken away, that’s how it happens, especially when you are young. That was pretty much the catalyst that made me go I am going to do what I want.” 

Losing your best friend was hard on the fighter as it became the fire that he needed to go for a fighting career. In addition to his career as a fighter, Sandhagen works in a Non-Profit organization helping neglected kids back in Mount Saint Vincent’s in Denver. What’s your take on Cory Sandhagen’s journey? State your thoughts in the comments below.