Cory Sandhagen would consider entertaining Petr Yan’s callout but not right away.
Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) called for a title shot after defeating Deiveson Figueiredo in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 67 main event. Sandhagen was called out by Yan (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who defeated him to claim the interim title at UFC 267 in October 2021.
Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) runs things back with Sean O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the UFC 316 main event on June 7 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Sandhagen prefers waiting for the outcome of that fight first before accepting a Yan rematch.
“Yeah, sure, I’m not going to commit to that until after the title fight,” Sandhagen said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I’m not opposed to fighting Yan. I would love to fight Yan, especially because he likes spreading the narrative like remember what happened last time we fought. Like, Yan, dude, I took that on four weeks’ notice, on your side of the world, in a fight I only had a month to get ready for, and he’s a really good fighter.
“You need more time than that to get ready for the guy. And not to mention, I was winning that fight all the way up until I got hit with like that crazy spinny, weird sh*t that he hit me with that I’ll never let him hit me with again. Let’s not act like that was like a one-sided fight. Because I was winning that fight until I got dropped at the end of the third. If it means fighting Yan again, then for sure, but I mean, the title should be next for me.”
If a title shot isn’t next for Sandhagen, he has a suggestion to up the stakes for a potential rematch with Yan.
“I like Yan, though,” Sandhagen said. “Me and Yan are cut from the same cloth, and I know that he feels that, too. He’s like a gritty, mean guy when he fights, and I’m a gritty, mean guy when I fight, too. I think we’re both about that life. I like Yan. If I was going to entertain Yan for anything, just to throw out a teaser or an idea, if I don’t get the title shot next, maybe me and Yan for the baddest motherf*cker bantamweight belt would be cool.”
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