The viral debate about an imaginary fight between 100 humans and one silverback gorilla has taken the internet by storm over the last week. UFC Des Moines headliner Cory Sandhagen was asked to weigh in on the conversation at the media day, and he had a hilarious response.
Cory Sandhagen Would Forget the MMA Rulebook for the Fight
Cory Sandhagen is currently in the final days of his fight camp for his upcoming contest against former Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines. Sandhagen revamped his winning run in the UFC with three straight victories following defeats against T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan in 2021.
However, Umar Nurmagomedov disrupted his momentum by subjecting him to a defeat in his last fight at UFC on ABC 7.
Sandhagen’s recent social media updates clarify that he has put every ounce of his energy into preparing himself for his fight against Figueiredo. “Sandman” is also keeping up with the pre-fight formalities for his upcoming encounter.
Being a fighter himself, Sandhagen was recently questioned about the currently viral topic of a fight between 100 humans and one silverback gorilla during his appearance at the media day of UFC Des Moines. The 17-5 record-holder had much to say about the topic, even though he admitted he had never heard of the topic before.
The 33-year-old implied that the team of humans would be the strongest if all hundred were fighters like him. He said, “I’d definitely need a hundred of me. A hundred is kind of a lot.”
“My go-to would probably be trying to kick him in his nuts as many times as I could. And then probably poke him in the eye. Everything I could do that would be illegal in a fight, I’d probably try to do to the gorilla, and hopefully he wouldn’t rip and kill too many of myselves.”
#UFCDesMoines headliner Cory Sandhagen gives his take on 100 men vs. 1 gorilla debate. 🦍
"Everything that I could do that would be illegal in a fight, I would probably try to do to a gorilla." pic.twitter.com/wV0pvyoDlE
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 30, 2025
Sandhagen may desire to use such moves against a gorilla, but he’ll have to refrain from doing so during his fight against Figueiredo.
One of his former rivals, Petr Yan, lost the bantamweight gold due to disqualification after using an illegal move against his rival at UFC 259. Sandhagen wouldn’t want to be the following example in this regard.
Other UFC fighters have also weighed in on the debate. Conor McGregor said in a since-deleted tweet, “On behalf of gorillas, I’d smoke a 100 easy.” McGregor calling himself a “gorilla” is a reference to the logo of Ireland’s Straight Blast Gym, where he trains. He also has a silverback gorilla tattoo on his chest.