Petr Yan To Face Cory Sandhagen For The Interim Bantamweight Title

By Fight Sports Oct 1, 2021

Cory Sandhagen has stepped in for an interim title fight against Petr Yan after current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling was ruled out of the title fight.

The winner will be the mandatory fight for the champion.

Sandhagen is one of the most dangerous strikers of the division. He is 180 centimeters tall and his reach is 178. Sterling is the man who stopped his five-fight winning streak and served his first-ever UFC loss.

Still, after suffering a first-round submission loss, Sandhagen earned two more knockout victories against former title challenger Marlon Moraes and former champion Frankie Edgar.

The last time he fought was with TJ Dillashaw and lost via split decision. However, many fighters and fans think that Sandhagen should’ve won because of Dillashaw’s face damage.

Yan is the former bantamweight champion of the UFC.

He earned that title by defeating former featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the fifth round via TKO.

In his first title defense, the Russian fighter faced Sterling at UFC 259. He was dominating for the whole fight, but in the fourth round, he landed an illegal knee to the face.

Sterling took significant neck injury and could not continue the fight. He won the title. Many fans consider Sterling as a fake champion.

Two of the most dangerous strikers of the division will share the octagon under a potential five-round battle.