American fighter Cory Sandhagen regards his UFC bout against Russian opponent Petr Yan as an 'ancient war'
- Cory Sandhagen envisages the concept of ancient warfare to get himself hyped for battle.
- The American knockout artist is one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC.
- And he returns Saturday in an interim bantamweight title fight against against Petr Yan.
ABU DHABI - American fighter Cory Sandhagen regards Saturday's UFC 267 bout against Russian opponent Petr Yan as an "ancient war."
It is a mentality he has used for much of his career as he is just days away from returning to the Octagon for a high-stakes match with the interim UFC bantamweight championship on the line.
Sandhagen is one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC thanks to a fan-friendly style that delivers outrageous knockouts, like his spinning wheel kick knockout win over Marlon Moraes last year, and the flying knee that finished Frankie Edgar in February 2021.
His weekend's fight takes place inside the 18,000 capacity Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and he's looking to rebound from a July loss to T.J. Dillashaw - a result he contests to this day.
He told reporters at a media day Insider attended Wednesday that he set "T.J.'s village on fire" during their five-round fight in Las Vegas three months ago.
"So if we're talking ancient war-type stuff, which is how I like to view this game, I'm the guy that can take the land.
"Those other guys can't right now. I'm the guy who can take the land," he said, when asked about the convoluted title landscape in his division.
The champion, Aljamain Sterling, has undergone neck surgery and is not expected to return to combat sports until 2022.
This paved the way for the creation of a bantamweight interim title so that the division is not held up in Sterling's absence, with the No.1 in the division Yan competing against Sandhagen, ranked third.
"I'll see myself as champ," Sandhagen told the media, should he get his arm raised this weekend.
From there, he wants to unify the championship in a rematch against Sterling - the only other fighter to beat him - before exacting his revenge against Dillashaw.
"I need to make up my two losses against Aljamain and T.J. also, but I'll go home with a smile on my face, calling myself the champ," after beating Yan, he said.
It 'sucks' having losses on a record
Despite his pedigree in mixed martial arts, Sandhagen is a fighter who remains haunted by his defeats.
"It would be beautiful for it to work out that way," Sandhagen said regarding the possibility of fighting Sterling, and then Dillashaw, should he win the interim belt.
"It just sucks having those two L's on my record. One, because the Sterling fight was just shitty and embarrassing for me, and then I'd like to definitely like to show I'm better than that guy.
"And same with T.J. as I lost a decision that could have gone either way. I definitely walked out of the cage a lot less beat up than T.J. did
"I think it would be beautiful if I got to avenge those two losses and will even speak more to how good I am in this sport."
He then spoke about the sacrifices he has made in the build-up to this bout, and throughout his life, as a career's worth of work now culminates in an interim title shot opportunity.
"I worked really, really hard for it," Sandhagen said. "I didn't do a lot of partying at college because I was at practice. I didn't make a lot of friends in the last few years because I was at practise.
"I don't have a lot of the same relationships with old friends because of me working my ass off every single day and putting all my energy into becoming a world champ.
"The reason I'm sitting here is because I've been doing that a long time now."
Sandhagen's fight with Yan, and the UFC 267 card, will be broadcast on ESPN+ in the US, and BT Sport 2 in the UK.