“Everyone sees Yan as the champ of the division, I think it will mean a lot,” Cory Sandhagen on facing Petr Yan at UFC 267

“Everyone sees Yan as the champ of the division, I think it will mean a lot,” Cory Sandhagen on facing Petr Yan at UFC 267

Cory Sandhgane and Petr Yan

Even though the undisputed bantamweight title isn’t on the line, the interim bantamweight title match between Cory Sandhagen and former champion Petr Yan at UFC 267 will most certainly decide the future of the division.

Yan lost his belt to Aljamain Sterling after he landed an illegal knee to his face. Sterling became the first person in the history of the company to win the belt via disqualification.

A lot of back and forth has been going on between these two. Sterling was supposed to face Yan at UFC 267, but he had to pull out from the fight due to lingering health issues. Now that Sandhagen is getting a chance at the title, he will be more than prepared for this one. The event will take place on 30th October in Abu Dhabi at the Etihad Arena.

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“Even though it’s an interim one, it would feel like I’m the champ,” Cory Sandhagen wants to become the UFC champion

Cory Sandhagen
Cory Sandhagen

Sandhagen believes Yan is the best in the division, and he is leaving no room for error while preparing for the biggest fight of his career. Talking to Ariel Helwani from The MMA Hour, he said, “In this circumstance I think it might. I think everyone sees Yan as the champ of the division and the best in the division.”

“I think it will mean a lot. It never feels real until it actually is real and now that I’m fighting for a UFC belt, even though it’s an interim one, it would feel like I’m the champ. I would definitely know that I have some quieting of the voices about the Sterling loss I’ve had and then the TJ loss that I had, but those will be very exciting rematches in the division,” said Sandhagen.

Also read – “I don’t think you should strip someone for having a legit injury,” Cory Sandhagen defends Aljamain Sterling ahead of UFC 267