It's currently an awkward time for a lot of fighters in terms of training for obviously reasons. With gyms being closed down and training partners quarantining, practically nobody is in what they would consider a normal training camp. 

The question then becomes, how close do we have to come to normal in order to be acceptable? Can a limited training camp still serve the purpose? What aspects can be limited. 

The UFC’s #4 ranked bantamweight, Cory Sandhagen struggles with some of these very questions, but it isn’t these. Sandhagen also worries about whether entering a training camp at all makes sense for him. 

“It's kind of hard. I go through an ethical battle, it feels like almost every single day of whether I should fight,”  Sandhagen admits. “Because in order for me to get in a proper training camp, I would need training partners and just kind of figuring out how do I best do that in order to keep myself from getting sick and then keep my loved ones from getting sick.”

The proximity of his parents as well as his living situation have him in a peculiar place. With both situations, he worries about what would actually happen if he were to transmit the virus to loved ones. 

“I live 15-20 minutes away from my parents. I live with my girlfriend and another roommate,” he said.  “My other roommate does bodywork and stuff, kind of like a massage therapist. So I get her sick. She can't go to work when everything kind of starts to open up a little bit. If I get my girlfriend's sick, she has older parents and she has a grandma that she would buy to see.”

With all of these scenarios going through his head about what could go wrong, he’s spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out the best way to keep others safe while continuing on with his job. This has led him to some less than desirable, but perhaps necessary solutions. 

“You know, I even thought about just kind of moving out and doing just isolate myself while I was kind of training with some training partners,” he said. “But I don't know, man, it's a tough ethical decision to make.”

Ultimately, Sandhagen hopes it never comes to moving out and living on his own for a while. With things seemingly improving, he has a positive outlook. However, the state of the bantamweight division also looms heavy on his mind. 

“It sounds like things are getting a little bit better. Some of the states are starting to open up. I know that Colorado is, while they still are gonna have some regulations, they're not going to have as many starts next week,” Sandhagen said. “But at the end of the day, man, like this is my job, and this is how I put food on the table. If my job is going to keep going, I also need to keep going and right now is a really crucial time for me, especially in the 135lbs division, or for the 135lbs division in general, it's a really crucial time.”

If things continue to improve, Sandhagen hopes to fight in June sometime. While he thinks the upcoming bantamweight title fight is a bit of weaker matchmaking, he understands that it is just business, and plans on just continuing to work towards his goal - by whatever means necessary.