Cory Sandhagen predicts a bantamweight title shot isn’t far out of reach despite his loss to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC on ESPN 27.

Sandhagen (14-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) experienced a heartbreaking split decision loss to Dillashaw (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in Saturday’s bantamweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It went down to the wire, with judges scoring it three rounds to two across the board.

Although Dillashaw had a lot of successful moments in the fight, Sandhagen thought he absorbed less damage and did more over the course of 25 minutes.

“I know I had him hurt more times than me,” Sandhagen told Megan Olivi on the UFC on ESPN 27 post-fight show. “I think I was landing the way cleaner shots. I was picking him apart. I guess I should’ve done more. That’s on me. … I told myself I was winning the fifth round. I thought that I did. I don’t know. What can you do? I thought I made really good adjustments as the fight was going on. What can you do? I guess I’ll learn from it. I’ll still be world champ. I’ll still do all the things I said I was going to do. I just have got to learn and get better, I guess.”

Despite the result, Sandhagen doesn’t think he’s entirely pushed out of the loaded title picture at 135 pounds. Champion Aljamain Sterling likely will rematch Petr Yan later this year, and Dillashaw is likely in line to fight the winner.

Sandhagen said he had a post-fight conversation with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, and that he was told it would only take him one win to get back in line to challenge for the belt.

"Sean Shelby just talked to me in the back. I made him pinky promise me that I'm still one fight away from the title."

Cory Sandhagen wanted assurances after #UFCVegas32 😅 (via @MeganOlivi) pic.twitter.com/vbDjkpyZ2Y

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 25, 2021

“Sean Shelby just talked to me in the back,” Sandhagen said. “I made him pinky-promise me that I’m one fight away from winning the title. He came back and said, ‘There’s nothing I can do about (the loss), but I promise you you’re still one fight away from the title.’ I said, ‘I’m going to make you pinky-promise me.’ He did, so that’s still what we’re looking at.”

For now, though, Sandhagen will have to digest the difficult result against Dillashaw. He said his goal remains the same even in defeat, and he intends to continue the momentum in what he felt like was a win in the next outing.

“I don’t want to be a little whiny baby,” Sandhagen said. “I’m going to take it. I’m going to get better from it. That’s what I’m going to do, and I’m still going to win a world championship hopefully still next year.”