Cory Sandhagen had just sparred for six 5-minute rounds when he sits down for a half-hour with UFC.com at ONX Sports outside of Denver, Colorado. At the time, his main event with Umar Nurmagomedov on August 3 was about three weeks away, leaving him about another week of multiple workouts a day before tapering off and heading to Abu Dhabi. So, when he gets asked how he’s feeling, his answer is both tongue-in-cheek and incredibly real. When you’re a lifer in mixed martial arts, that rundown feeling is just part of the fight game. It’s the sign that the fight, the chance to put on display months of hard work, is getting closer. And for the 32-year-old Sandhagen, who seems like he is about one win away from his second crack at a UFC title, the opportunity to push himself to the brink is everything he could want. “Umar brought the best out of me in this fight camp,” Sandhagen said. “I've never worked so many hours to learn more and more and more and more. Of course, that, paired with the physical piece and then the mental piece and just all of it, I've already pushed myself harder than I've ever had to push myself, which is great. (I’m) super grateful for that. When fight fans last saw the Colorado native, he had finished a clean sweep on the scorecards of Rob Font in Nashville, but that performance wasn’t the one for which Sandhagen hoped. Although he dominated Font — who stepped in on short-notice when Nurmagomedov pulled out with an injury — it wasn’t the most exciting approach. Sandhagen suffered a torn tricep in the first round, which forced him to adopt a wrestling-heavy attack for the majority of the bout. Instead of throwing his kaleidoscope of skills at Font in hopes of overwhelming him, Sandhagen was forced to maintain top control, stay safe and get the nod from the judges. Sandhagen went so far as to apologize to the UFC brass for the performance, which UFC CEO Dana White said wasn’t as disappointing as it was being made out to be. A big silver lining was Sandhagen’s continued evolution. He might not have had the toolbag to shift gears in the same way in years prior.