Aljamain Sterling Thinks Cory Sandhagen Will Beat Petr Yan
UFC Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling believes Cory Sandhagen will score an upset win over Petr Yan at UFC 267 on Saturday to become the interim champion at 135lbs.
While some thought the interim title might have been a little rushed, with Sterling dealing with a neck injury he didn’t seem to mind the UFC creating the interim belt while he’s sidelined. Speaking to MMA Fighting, he explained why it didn’t strike a nerve with him.
“It didn’t bother me at all,” Sterling said “I think it makes for a bigger fight. Obviously, I’m not going to be out longer than a year. I’m going to be out for just about a year, so for them to keep the division moving — we had situation before with Cruz when he was hurt and he was out for almost four years, I feel like. They kept the belt for him. They made the interim, [Renan] Barao won the interim title over [Urijah] Faber and kept the division moving before they actually made Barao the undisputed inaugural champion.
“It’s just one of those situations. It’s a difficult situation but it doesn’t bother me.”
Aljamain Sterling Expects Cory Sandhagen To Become Interim Champ At UFC 267
In terms of the interim title fight itself, Sterling believes that Sandhagen can and will hurt Yan on the feet and piece him up quite a bit.
“I do think Sandhagen gives him a ton of trouble on the feet, and I think that’s what is going to make this very, very difficult [for Petr Yan],” Sterling explained. “Because Yan kind of stands there, kind of plods forward, and he’s just looking for that big shot, hopefully can catch you. It’s one of those things where a guy like myself, a guy like Sandhagen, a guy like [T.J.] Dillashaw, anyone that has any kind of real footwork, he’s going to have a really hard time with those guys trying to find them. Sandhagen’s real tall, he’s really rangy. You watch the fight with him and Marlon [Moraes] — Marlon couldn’t touch him. He was throwing kicks, swinging and missing. He looked like he was at the batting cage and couldn’t find connection at all. That’s what it looked like and that’s what Sandhagen does. He’s that good.
“That’s why I had to put the pressure on him the way I did because if I give that guy space, that’s a dangerous, dangerous fight and I knew that going in. The same way I know the rematch [against Sandhagen] is going to be very, very dangerous, but I know if I can do the same thing, which is get my hands connected on that man, I’m taking him out again.”
While Yan has some top-level power on the feet, he also is fully capable of being able to take down his opponents as he’s done in the past. Sterling believes this is the game plan Yan and his team will implement.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Yan gets touched up a little bit, that he looks to go to the wrestling,” Sterling said. “Because again, [Cory Sandhagen is] that dangerous from the outside. It’s not like he has a lot of power but he has fight-ending techniques. Flying knees, spinning elbows, those front kicks that he uses. Even that head kick that he uses and the wheel kick that he uses, he’s got dangerous weapons.
“I guarantee [Yan is] going to try to take him down. If he gets touched up a bit, he’s going to try to take him down. He’s going to try to do what I did and he’s going to realize that sh*t is not easy. I think the fans are going to realize, ‘Maybe Aljo was onto something when he was saying what he was saying.’ I’m just calling it how I see it.”
While the result on Saturday will greatly affect Sterling’s next opponent, he believes that a rematch with Yan must be done and will happen in the future with a title on the line or not.
“I told the matchmakers already — we’re going to fight again,” Sterling said about Yan. “We have to fight again. There’s no way that story could end the way it did. There has to be an ending to this book. We’ve got to have the season finale. That’s the way I look at it. I want to give the fans the fight that they should have gotten the first time where I’m actually feeling good and not coming in depleted.
“If he’s better than me, then he’s better than me. But I really, truly feel in my body that guy is not the better fighter. I can’t wait to prove it no matter what, whether it’s for the title or not. Contender fight. No matter what it is, we’re going to have to run it back at some point.”
Do you agree with Aljamain Sterling? Will Cory Sandhagen beat Petr Yan at UFC 267?
