Petr Yan willing to face rising bantamweight if Cory Sandhagen rejects UFC title eliminator
Petr Yan is eager to stay active in his pursuit to reclaim the UFC bantamweight title.
Yan (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) called out Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) after Sandhagen defeated Deiveson Figueiredo in Saturday's UFC on ESPN 67 main event in Des Moines, Iowa. Sandhagen wants a title shot next, but Yan pitched a title eliminator instead.
Sandhagen lost to Yan in their interim title fight at UFC 267 in October 2021. Yan wasn't able to reclaim his bantamweight title when he lost to Aljamain Sterling a second time, which resulted in a three-fight losing skid. However, Yan has now won back-to-back fights over Song Yadong and Figueiredo, and doesn't like Sandhagen asking for a title shot after just one win.
"Last fight with Umar, Cory lost," Yan told Submission Radio. "If you remember my fight with Cory, 2021, I beat him too, and after I lose fight, I won two fights. Won two (against) good fighters. Song Yadong, he's a top fighter, same Figueiredo. I believe title fight (is next). If Cory wants to fight, we can do a rematch with him, same time, July in Abu Dhabi, Fight Night. I can give him a rematch, and we will know who deserves the title fight."
If not Sandhagen, Yan is willing to fight anyone who will get him back to a title fight. He was asked about rumors surrounding a fight with rising bantamweight Marcus McGhee.
"It's not fake," Yan said of rumors of McGhee. "I want to be active in my sport career, I want to fight. We tried to fight in Azerbaijan with Umar (Nurmagomedov). When he have injury, he can't fight in June, July. His team don't talk nothing. They team Khabib talk, he will be ready only October. I can't wait until October. October will be one year I don't fight. I want to fight June, July, I will be ready. ... I will fight with McGhee. If he ready, we can do it. We can do big fight, big show.
"If Cory doesn't want to find out who really deserves the next shot in a fight, which I really doubt that he wants because he remembered what happened in the last fight, last time before his last fight, he was telling that he's better, but what happens? He had to stand up from the canvas in that fight. So of course, if no one else is available or no one else wants it, I will fight someone who who wants, and if it's McGhee, then it's McGhee. I want to stay active, and I want to prove with my actions that I'm the one who deserves to fight for the belt, not just by winning one fight and just waiting for it for the shot."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UFC on ABC 9 takeaways: Petr Yan's rightful claim to a title shot
What mattered most at UFC on ABC 9 on Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Here are a few post-fight musings … 4. Steven Nguyen's historic beatdown Steven Nguyen broke a UFC record that stood for the better part of a decade on the preliminary card when he battered Mohammad Yahya and scored a new all-time single-fight high with six knockdowns landed. Nguyen (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dropped Yahya early in the first round and didn't relent for the next 10 minutes. It could've been stopped multiple times, but referee Jason Herzog gave Yahya every chance to show his heart and durability. Yahya had a flash of an unthinkable turnaround early in the second frame, but then it was right back to Nguyen hurting him until the frame expired and the doctor waved it off. Of the thousands of fights that haven taken place over the course of UFC history, only two fighters, Forrest Petz in 2006 and Jeremy Stephens in 2017, landed five total knockdowns in a single bout. Nguyen set a new bar with his performance, and it might be another decade or more until we see something like that happen again. It's truly rare. 3. Muslim Salikhov can still thump Muslim Salikhov made it three straight knockout wins inside the octagon when he became the first man to finish Carlos Leal with strikes in their welterweight bout. Salikhov (22-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) was a massive betting underdog for the fight, but the 41-year-old disproved all that in a mere 42 seconds when he cracked Leal clean and instantly shut the lights out, sending the crowd, occupied by former UFC champ Islam Makhachev, into an absolute frenzy. "The King of Kung Fu" is a threat to do that to anyone he shares that cage with. Can he turn this run into something that will get him a ranked fight? That is obviously the goal, but even if he falls short of it, he will make it fun. 2. Petr Yan should get a title shot Petr Yan put on another clinic to turn back the surging Marcus McGhee and stake his claim for the next title shot in the bantamweight division. The former champ has put together three consecutive victories since a 1-4 drought that looks much worse on paper than it was in reality, all beginning with his infamous title disqualification loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273 in April 2022. If Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) ever truly fell out of form, which is arguable, then he's certainly returned to being at or near his peak. It feels like the right time to give him what he asked for, and that's an opportunity to regain the belt against the winner of champ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen, who meet in the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas. The stars seem to align well for him, especially if Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) wins and continues his quest to be an ultra-active champion. Yan has the most deserving resume, but he did lose a lopsided fight to "The Machine" in their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 221 in March 2023. If Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) wins, then Yan might have a great chance if the new champ shoos away a rematch with Dvalishvili and wants to avenge his unanimous decision loss to Yan in an interim title bout at UFC 267 in October 2021. Either way, Yan is in a solid position, and the same one he would've been in if he faced a more highly-ranked and more challenging opponent than he got from McGhee. 1. Who won Reinier de Ridder vs. Robert Whittaker? The main event between middleweight contenders Reinier de Ridder and Robert Whittaker came down to the wire after five compelling rounds, and in the end two of three judges felt the former two-division ONE Championship titleholder deserved the nod. What was a fascinating matchup on paper played out in reality, with de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) making a true effort to get the fight to the ground and finish it early before falling back into major success on the feet. He seemingly had Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) hurt multiple times, but Whittaker had the biggest moment of the 25 minutes when he floored de Ridder with a massive punch and was on the doorstep of a stoppage. He couldn't push through it and halt the fight in that third-round sequence, though, and that allowed de Ridder to regain his wits and show his resiliency. To get his hand raised is validating for de Ridder, and continues his dream UFC run. It's hard to say he doesn't deserve it, though any frustration from Whittaker is valid, especially knowing he was probably one good punch away from taking the judges out of the equation. The result leaves many questions around Whittaker and his future after expressing his desire to make one more title run. It stings on many levels, but in his wake a true contender is born in de Ridder. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Abu Dhabi takeaways: Petr Yan's rightful claim to a title shot
USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
UFC on ABC 9 takeaways: Petr Yan's rightful claim to a title shot
What mattered most at UFC on ABC 9 on Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Here are a few post-fight musings … 4. Steven Nguyen's historic beatdown Steven Nguyen broke a UFC record that stood for the better part of a decade on the preliminary card when he battered Mohammad Yahya and scored a new all-time single-fight high with six knockdowns landed. Nguyen (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dropped Yahya early in the first round and didn't relent for the next 10 minutes. It could've been stopped multiple times, but referee Jason Herzog gave Yahya every chance to show his heart and durability. Yahya had a flash of an unthinkable turnaround early in the second frame, but then it was right back to Nguyen hurting him until the frame expired and the doctor waved it off. Of the thousands of fights that haven taken place over the course of UFC history, only two fighters, Forrest Petz in 2006 and Jeremy Stephens in 2017, landed five total knockdowns in a single bout. Nguyen set a new bar with his performance, and it might be another decade or more until we see something like that happen again. It's truly rare. 3. Muslim Salikhov can still thump Muslim Salikhov made it three straight knockout wins inside the octagon when he became the first man to finish Carlos Leal with strikes in their welterweight bout. Salikhov (22-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) was a massive betting underdog for the fight, but the 41-year-old disproved all that in a mere 42 seconds when he cracked Leal clean and instantly shut the lights out, sending the crowd, occupied by former UFC champ Islam Makhachev, into an absolute frenzy. "The King of Kung Fu" is a threat to do that to anyone he shares that cage with. Can he turn this run into something that will get him a ranked fight? That is obviously the goal, but even if he falls short of it, he will make it fun. 2. Petr Yan should get a title shot Petr Yan put on another clinic to turn back the surging Marcus McGhee and stake his claim for the next title shot in the bantamweight division. The former champ has put together three consecutive victories since a 1-4 drought that looks much worse on paper than it was in reality, all beginning with his infamous title disqualification loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273 in April 2022. If Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) ever truly fell out of form, which is arguable, then he's certainly returned to being at or near his peak. It feels like the right time to give him what he asked for, and that's an opportunity to regain the belt against the winner of champ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen, who meet in the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas. The stars seem to align well for him, especially if Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) wins and continues his quest to be an ultra-active champion. Yan has the most deserving resume, but he did lose a lopsided fight to "The Machine" in their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 221 in March 2023. If Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) wins, then Yan might have a great chance if the new champ shoos away a rematch with Dvalishvili and wants to avenge his unanimous decision loss to Yan in an interim title bout at UFC 267 in October 2021. Either way, Yan is in a solid position, and the same one he would've been in if he faced a more highly-ranked and more challenging opponent than he got from McGhee. 1. Who won Reinier de Ridder vs. Robert Whittaker? The main event between middleweight contenders Reinier de Ridder and Robert Whittaker came down to the wire after five compelling rounds, and in the end two of three judges felt the former two-division ONE Championship titleholder deserved the nod. What was a fascinating matchup on paper played out in reality, with de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) making a true effort to get the fight to the ground and finish it early before falling back into major success on the feet. He seemingly had Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) hurt multiple times, but Whittaker had the biggest moment of the 25 minutes when he floored de Ridder with a massive punch and was on the doorstep of a stoppage. He couldn't push through it and halt the fight in that third-round sequence, though, and that allowed de Ridder to regain his wits and show his resiliency. To get his hand raised is validating for de Ridder, and continues his dream UFC run. It's hard to say he doesn't deserve it, though any frustration from Whittaker is valid, especially knowing he was probably one good punch away from taking the judges out of the equation. The result leaves many questions around Whittaker and his future after expressing his desire to make one more title run. It stings on many levels, but in his wake a true contender is born in de Ridder.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Islam Makhachev reacts to Ilia Topuria taking No. 1 pound-for-pound spot in UFC rankings
A post shared by UFC Eurasia (@ufceurasia) Islam Makhachev is unbothered by Ilia Topuria overtaking him in the official UFC rankings. For many years, Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) made it clear he was striving to be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He spent a solid chunk of time holding down the position during his dominant and record-setting reign as lightweight champion, but now that he's moved on from the division and is currently without a belt, that opened the door for someone else. Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) walked through that door at UFC 317 in June, when the former featherweight champion moved up in weight and knocked out Charles Oliveira to claim the vacant 155-pound belt left behind by Makhachev as he jumps divisions in his own career and readies to challenge welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena later this year. With Topuria being a hot item in the sport and becoming the first to claim belts in two divisions while undefeated, he is now ranked No. 1 pound-for-pound on the UFC's official rankings. This doesn't frustrate Makhachev, he said, because he thinks it's all designed to build toward an eventual fight between "El Matador" and himself. "Well, it's marketing," Makhachev told UFC Eurasia during Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 event in Abu Dhabi (H/T: Championship Rounds on X). "They did it on purpose for hype, to hype up the fight. People already have interest in this fight. They're doing the right thing. We will fight for first place.' Islam Makhachev reacts to Ilia Topuria taking his spot as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world"Well, it's marketing. They're doing it on purpose to promote this fight... So they do it right, and we'll be fighting for the #1 spot in the rankings." 👀🎥 @ufc Whether all of this is building toward a matchup between Makhachev and Topuria remains to be seen. Topuria has expressed a desire to follow Makhachev up to 170 pounds and attempt to become the first in UFC history to claim titles in three separate weight classes. UFC CEO Dana White recently said the super fight could materialize if each man wins one more fight. There are a number of potential contenders in play for Topuria's first defense at 155 pounds, including Justin Gaethje, Paddy Pimblett, Arman Tsarukyan or a rematch with BMF champ Max Holloway. Makhachev, meanwhile, will attempt to join the group of 10 previous fighters to capture belts in multiple weight classes when he faces Jack Della Maddalena, which he said is "90 percent" on the way to being finalized and announced.
