After Petr
Yan claimed the interim bantamweight crown with a memorable
triumph over Cory
Sandhagen in the
UFC 267 co-main event, there was some question as to what might
be next for the Russian known as “No Mercy.”
After all, a clash between Yan and ex-champ T.J.
Dillashaw could be appealing if Aljamain
Sterling is slow to recover from neck surgery. UFC president
Dana White put that notion to rest, alluding to the unfinished
business between Yan and Sterling. Sterling claimed the
bantamweight crown when he was unable to continue after Yan landed
an illegal knee in the fourth round of their clash at UFC 259 this
past March, resulting in a disqualification victory for the
Serra-Longo Fight Team member.
“Those two [Yan and Sandhagen] went to absolute war tonight,” White
said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Petr Yan is a
savage. I mean this guy is unbelievable, he’s unstoppable, he just
keeps moving forward. And here we are.
“If you look at the way that whole thing played out in the last
fight, this was the right way for this to go. He’s the champ. He
and Aljamain will do it again.”
Yan, meanwhile, didn’t seem to be especially pleased by his
performance against Sandhagen, despite the fact that many observers
were calling it an instant classic in the aftermath.
“I’m a little bit feeling empty emotionally after the fight,” Yan
said. “Of course, if fans consider it a great fight, I’m
happy.”
On the other hand, Yan did seem to find some measure of happiness
for regaining a piece of championship hardware. He preferred to
allow that to do the talking rather than singing his own praises on
Saturday night.
“As you see, I have a belt, and it says everything,” Yan said. “I’m
not going to praise myself sitting here.”
While Yan has exchanged barbs with Sterling in recent months, it
was nothing but respect between he and Sandhagen following an
extremely competitive five-round clash.
“He’s a good guy, a good fighter,” Yan said. “As you noticed before
the fight, we didn’t talk trash to each other. Respect was mutual,
you know? I respect him as human being and as a fighter.”