In fact, Sandhagen could have started to play into Song’s hands if he stuck to the cut, especially after seeing his opponent’s reaction to blood pouring down his face throughout the majority of the fight. “I honestly didn’t think about the cut,” Sandhagen said in his postgame press conference. “I could see the blood coming into his mouth. He’s kind of a weird dude. He smiles and enjoys it, taking the blood into his mouth. He’s one of those guys. “I noticed that, but other than that, it stuck to the game plan and made sure I didn’t get my ass kicked by it.” Sandhagen admitted that a blow he took from Song in the first round hurt him badly, but he managed to recover and continue without allowing the shot to change his performance afterwards. As time went on in the third round and eventually the fourth, Sandhagen’s confidence grew as he picked up on Song’s tendencies and patterns, which gave him the openings he needed to do more damage. Unfortunately for Song, he was not allowed to continue in the fifth round due to the cut getting worse with each exchange. “The song is one hell of a fighter,” Sandhagen said. “I knew he was going to be very tough. The guy hits really hard and defended takedowns really well. I think I started to understand him as the fight went on, so I was really looking forward to a fifth round. “I felt good, I felt fresh. I felt like my eyes were still working and my fifth round would be good, but I wanted to know that. That was kind of bad.” To be fair, Sandhagen admitted that he’s usually his own worst critic, so it’s not surprising that he felt let down, especially after the way this fight ended. Still, the one-time interim title contender is satisfied enough with his win that he’s in no rush to get back into a rematch with Song. “I didn’t win well enough,” Sandhagen said. “But that’s how I usually feel after every win. I TKO’d him, so no [I’m not interested in a rematch], not really. I kind of want to fight in the rankings now.” The bantamweight division has been incredibly busy of late, as many top-10 fighters have faced each other, with hopes that a new No. While he rarely calls anyone out by name, Sandhagen sees only a few viable options given the current land area at 135 pounds. “Chito [Vera] or Merab [Dvalishvili] they are the obvious names,” Sandhagen said. “Both pose very different challenges. Two completely opposite fighters almost. I don’t really care. Give me one of those for Christmas.”