Petr Yan responds after Cory Sandhagen calls for bantamweight title shot
UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan responded after Cory Sandhagen called for a bantamweight title shot following his win over Frankie Edgar.
Sandhagen finished Edgar with a ridiculous flying knee in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 18. In his post-fight interview, Sandhagen said he wants to fight the winner of the UFC 259 bantamweight title fight between Yan and Aljamain Sterling. Yan recently said that he wants TJ Dillashaw next if he gets past Sterling, something that Sandhagen recently called a “tough sell.” Considering Sandhagen is coming off of back-to-back knockout wins over Edgar and Marlon Moraes, while Dillashaw hasn’t fought in two years due to PEDSs, he might have a point.
Then again, Yan is the champ, and it seems like Dillashaw is the more interesting fight for him, especially from a financial perspective. But seeing what Sandhagen did to Edgar, Yan had to give him credit and leave an opening to fighting him for the belt one day. Check out what Yan wrote on his Twitter after Sandhagen called for a title shot.
Edgar is legend, time to move on. Good win for Cory. But hard to forget what my next opponent did to him. We’ll see what happens next 🤫
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) February 7, 2021
Edgar is legend, time to move on. Good win for Cory. But hard to forget what my next opponent did to him. We’ll see what happens next
Yan vs. Sterling first has to happen, of course, and that’s not going to be an easy win for the champ by any means. Sterling is very much a live dog. As good as Sandhagen has looked lately, remember that he was the guy who submitted by Sterling in the first round of their fight last year at UFC 250. His last two wins have shown that he’s grown as a fighter and deserves to fight for the belt. But Dillashaw’s return certainly throws a wrench into things.
Who do you think should get the next bantamweight title shot against the winner of UFC 259’s Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling?
