One of the promising stars the UFC has to offer resides right inside the bantamweight division. The #5 ranked contender Cory Sandhagen was born on April 20, 1992. Fans know him as the rising star in one of the stacked divisions of the promotion. However, not many know Sandhagen’s out-of-the-cage life up close and personal.
The Colorado-born has been into sports his whole life. Cory attended Smoky Hill High School and was raised in Aurora, Colorado. He made it to his school’s basketball team during his teenage years. He went to the University of Colorado Boulder, where he earned a degree in psychology. However, ‘Sandman‘ has a strong backbone for his successful fighting career to credit for.
Outside of his MMA life, Cory works part-time at a trauma center for children. He also passes on his knowledge of mixed martial arts at High Altitude Martial Arts in Aurora. The 30-year-old appears to be a devout personality. He has frequently shared his opinions on social media about the same. In one of his interviews, he mentioned how much he admires Hinduism and how much he would like to visit India someday.
Despite coming really close to winning the bantamweight title against Petr Yan, the 30-year-old is winning in life. Aside from having a lovely set of parents, he has a really supportive fiancée who goes by the name of Erica Ueda. On a recent episode of UFC Journey, Cory stated, “I don’t have a tonne of friends. I have 5 or 6 really close friends. and then I have my family and my fiancée and I have my sister.”
When did Cory Sandhagen meet his fiancée?
Unlike many professional fighters, Cory has been very public about his relationship on social media, and so is his fiancée. The UFC bantamweight met Erica Ueda in the year 2018. The couple started dating officially on October 17, 2018. In August 2021, Cory proposed to his girlfriend and posted a video on his Instagram. Both of them remain soon to be married.
What is Erica Ueda’s profession?
As per her LinkedIn, Erica Ueda is a Physiology graduate. She initiated her early career in 2016 as a recovery specialist, followed by a Research and Development Director of Recovery Services at Resilience Code. Ueda earned a Masters’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Northern Colorado University. Her most recent designation shows as an Administrative Support with META MVMT Live.
Erica has been by Cory’s side through all his ups and downs, inside and outside the Octagon. Despite supporting Cory’s Octagon outings from the outside, Erica doesn’t want her fiance to continue fighting a decade from now. The love birds enjoy going on treks and hikes together along with their pet dog. The duo often share photos of themselves enjoying the serene locations. As of March 2023, the couple doesn’t have any kids.