Compare Cory Sandhagen vs Sean O'Malley — UFC matchup breakdown
Tale of the Tape
The biometric deltas where one side genuinely has an edge.
Activity & layoff
The recency dimension Tale of the Tape doesn't carry. How active each fighter has been, and how that compares to active peers in their division.
- Cory has 8 months more layoff
Division percentiles below rank both fighters against the Bantamweight roster (341 fighters).
Recent form
Last five pro bouts (non-UFC fights dashed + tagged), current trajectory, and the level of opposition going into this matchup.
Common opponents
Every UFC opponent both fighters have faced — a direct comparison controlling for matchmaking.
Schedule Score
Who they've faced × what they've done. Composite + components compared head-to-head, percentile-ranked against every UFC fighter w/ ≥3 resolved bouts.
Per-tier records + bout-by-bout
| Tier | Cory Sandhagen | Sean O'Malley |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | 0-4 | 2-2 |
| Top-5 | 7-1 | 3-1, 1 NC |
| Top-15 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
| Cross-div ranked | 1-0 | — |
| Established | — | 1-0 |
| Unproven | 1-0 | 3-0 |
- L vs Merab DvalishviliCHAMP100Oct 4, 2025 · Champion
- W vs Deiveson Figueiredo#583May 3, 2025 · Top-5
- L vs Umar Nurmagomedov#1082Aug 3, 2024 · Top-5
- W vs Rob Font45Aug 5, 2023 · Cross-div ranked
- W vs Marlon Vera#481Mar 25, 2023 · Top-5
- W vs Song Yadong#1075Sep 17, 2022 · Top-5
- L vs Petr Yan#197Oct 30, 2021 · Champion
- L vs TJ DillashawCHAMP100Jul 24, 2021 · Champion
- W vs Frankie Edgar#484Feb 6, 2021 · Top-5
- W vs Marlon Moraes#190Oct 10, 2020 · Top-5
- L vs Aljamain Sterling#296Jun 6, 2020 · Champion
- W vs Raphael Assuncao#386Aug 17, 2019 · Top-5
- W vs John Lineker#882Apr 27, 2019 · Top-5
- W vs Mario Bautista51Jan 19, 2019 · Top-15
- W vs Iuri Alcantara#1370Aug 25, 2018 · Top-15
- W vs Austin Arnett8Jan 27, 2018 · Unproven
- W vs Aiemann Zahabi#675Jun 14, 2026 · Top-15
- W vs Song Yadong#578Jan 24, 2026 · Top-5
- L vs Merab DvalishviliCHAMP100Jun 7, 2025 · Champion
- L vs Merab Dvalishvili#197Sep 14, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Marlon Vera#580Mar 9, 2024 · Top-5
- W vs Aljamain SterlingCHAMP100Aug 19, 2023 · Champion
- W vs Petr Yan#197Oct 22, 2022 · Champion
- NC vs Pedro Munhoz#977Jul 2, 2022 · Top-5
- W vs Raulian Paiva#1560Dec 11, 2021 · Top-15
- W vs Kris Moutinho8Jul 10, 2021 · Unproven
- W vs Thomas Almeida#1570Mar 27, 2021 · Top-15
- L vs Marlon Vera#1574Aug 15, 2020 · Top-5
- W vs Eddie Wineland#1574Jun 6, 2020 · Top-5
- W vs Jose Quinonez30Mar 7, 2020 · Established
- W vs Andre Soukhamthath8Mar 3, 2018 · Unproven
- W vs Terrion Ware8Dec 1, 2017 · Unproven
All figures are 0–100 ratings (shown as %), not percentages of anything literal. Schedule strength = the average quality of every UFC opponent faced (win or lose). Win quality = the average quality of the opponents actually beaten. The composite Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) with win quality (35%). Per-bout opponent quality is scored on rank-at-time-of-fight (champion 100, ranks 1–5 = 90→78, ranks 6–15 = 75→60), with cross-division and P4P signals layered on, falling back to opponent UFC record-at-time for unranked opponents. For fighters with limited UFC experience the headline is held toward a rookie baseline, so debut / low-sample fighters read lower than established names. UFC ranking data is sparse before December 2018, so legacy-era fighters score from record-at-time when ranks are missing.
Career splits
Striking matchup
Each fighter's offense mapped against the other's defense — where one attacks meets where the other gets hit, across head, body, and leg. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time.
O'Malley has the striking edge (+13).
Where Sandhagen attacks (green = high volume) vs where O'Malley gets hit (red = vulnerable) — Sandhagen’s green zones meeting O'Malley’s red zones are the openings.
- Head65%86th742
- Body16%61st178
- Leg20%84th224
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes
- Head50%66th301
- Body15%67th93
- Leg35%9th213
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share absorbed · partly opponent-dependent
- Standing83%949
- Clinch3%34
- Ground14%161
- Standing81%491
- Clinch5%33
- Ground14%83
Each lane: the attacker’s strike rate (offense) vs the other’s rate absorbed (defense), graded on the division. The bar leans toward whoever wins the exchange — longer + greener = a bigger, higher-quality edge.
Full breakdown — all zones, both views
| Zone | Fighter | Landed / 15 | Accuracy | Absorbed / 15 | Career landed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Cory Sandhagen | top 14% of division44.7 | 36% | around division average32.1 | 742 |
| Head | Sean O'Malley | top 7% of division55.6 | 54% | above division average27.2 | 745 |
| Body | Cory Sandhagen | above division average11.3 | 74% | below division average11.0 | 178 |
| Body | Sean O'Malley | top 11% of division19.5 | 75% | above division average8.5 | 261 |
| Leg | Cory Sandhagen | top 16% of division13.3 | 89% | below division average9.7 | 224 |
| Leg | Sean O'Malley | above division average8.3 | 93% | bottom of the division15.9 | 100 |
Per-15-minute rates are sourced from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Division percentile is computed against every UFC fighter who has competed in this weight class with at least two recorded bouts. Lower “absorbed” values are better — the percentile is inverted so “top of division” always means better outcome.
Grappling matchup
Takedowns, submission threat, and control. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time, with takedown defense as a percentage of opponent attempts stopped.
Each metric graded on the division — the bar leans toward whoever wins that part of the grappling exchange (longer + greener = a bigger edge).
Sandhagen has the grappling edge (+15).
Full breakdown — career grappling totals
| Metric | Cory Sandhagen | Sean O'Malley |
|---|---|---|
| Takedowns landed / 15career takedowns | 1.118 | 0.23 |
| Takedown accuracycareer landed / attempted | 35%18 / 52 | 43%3 / 7 |
| Takedown defensecareer stopped / faced | 56%53 / 94 | 60%37 / 62 |
| Submission attempts / 15career attempts | 0.34 | 0.23 |
| Control time / 15 (min)career total | 3.0 min47:25 | 0.2 min2:03 |
| Time controlled by opponent / 15 (min)career total | 2.2 min35:13 | 2.7 min32:47 |
All rates computed from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Takedown defense = opponent attempts stopped ÷ opponent total attempts. Control time figures are minutes the fighter spent in a dominant position per 15 minutes of fight time. Accuracy under 8 career attempts is shown raw and ungraded — too small a sample to rate against the division.
Finishing & durability
How often each fighter ends fights early — and how often they get put away. Outcomes view, not per-minute output.
When their fights end
every pro finish on the fight clockFinish & durability rates
Full professional career
Full method breakdown
| Outcome | Cory Sandhagen | Sean O'Malley |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | ||
| by KO / TKO | 8(44%) | 12(63%) |
| by submission | 3(17%) | 1(5%) |
| by decision | 7(39%) | 6(32%) |
| Losses | ||
| by KO / TKO | 0(0%) | 1(33%) |
| by submission | 1(17%) | 1(33%) |
| by decision | 5(83%) | 1(33%) |
Full professional career method splits, graded against the full-pro division distribution. Career KO losses are the total — clean knockouts and cut/injury stoppages can’t be separated outside the UFC corpus. Finish-time pace is UFC-only.
KO history
UFC fights only — knockout power and chin durability, head-to-head, then when the last finish landed, and on whom.
- Last time KO'dNever finished by strikes in the UFC
- Last time submittedvs Aljamain Sterling6 years agoUFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer · Jun 6, 2020 · R1 · 1:28
- Last time KO'dvs Marlon Vera5y 10mo agoUFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3 · Aug 15, 2020 · R1 · 4:40
- Last time submittedvs Merab Dvalishvili1 year agoUFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 · Jun 7, 2025 · R3 · 4:42
Pace & fade
How each fighter's work rate holds up as a fight wears on — round-by-round output (striking, takedown attempts, and control time combined), and whether they fade. The fade % compares round-3 output to round 1 over bouts that reached the third round.
Cardio edge to O'Malley: O'Malley builds (+5% per round through round 5) while Sandhagen fades (-7% per round through round 5). Within fights that reached round 3, Sandhagen sustains 101% of round-1 output by round 3, O'Malley 116%.
Rounds backed by fewer than 2 bouts are drawn smaller and dimmed with an n= count — a deep round seen in one or two fights is a thin sample, not a settled rate. Per-round bout counts are in the breakdown below.
Full per-round breakdown — both fighters
What drives the pace · per round
The composite output line above blends these three inputs. Splitting them out shows whether a fighter’s work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control — and which input fades.
| Round | Fighter | Output / min | Sig landed / min | Sig absorbed / min | TD att / min | Control | Bouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Cory Sandhagen | 7.0 | 5.5 | 2.6 | 0.21 | 22% | 16 |
| R1 | Sean O'Malley | 5.5 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 0.04 | 0% | 15 |
| R2 | Cory Sandhagen | 6.5 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 0.18 | 27% | 13 |
| R2 | Sean O'Malley | 6.4 | 6.3 | 4.1 | 0.00 | 3% | 11 |
| R3 | Cory Sandhagen | 6.2 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 0.22 | 11% | 9 |
| R3 | Sean O'Malley | 7.1 | 6.7 | 3.2 | 0.09 | 1% | 9 |
| R4 | Cory Sandhagen | 5.7 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 0.29 | 19% | 7 |
| R4 | Sean O'Malley | 6.2 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 0.00 | 0% | 2 |
| R5 | Cory Sandhagen | 5.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 0.23 | 18% | 6 |
| R5 | Sean O'Malley | 7.2 | 7.2 | 3.1 | 0.00 | 0% | 2 |
Output / minis the headline work rate — significant strikes landed, plus 3 per takedown attempt, plus one per 15 seconds of control — so a takedown-and-grind round isn’t scored as idle the way bare striking volume would. The remaining columns are its components. Per-round rates use UFCStats per-round data (available for ~95% of bouts since 2008). Each round’s rates are averaged only over bouts that reached that round, so the bout count shrinks as rounds deepen. The final round of a finished fight is pro-rated by its actual length — a 2:30 stoppage counts as 2.5 minutes, not five — so an early finish doesn’t distort the per-minute pace.