Cory Sandhagen was unflinching in his first face-to-face with Petr Yan on Thursday at the UFC 267 press conference in Abu Dhabi.
Before they take to the Octagon on “Fight Island”, the fighters for Saturday’s card took the stage for a traditional staredown, and photo-op with UFC President Dana White.
As Yan strolled across the slight riser-construction stage to stand opposite Sandhagen, he paused briefly before aggressively dipping his head at Sandhagen. “The Sandman” didn’t flinch or break his glare.
Cory Sandhagen shows no fear in his UFC 267 presser face-off with Petr Yan
A battle for bantamweight gold!! 🏆
Petr Yan vs Cory Sandhagen for the interim title SATURDAY at #UFC267 @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/G8Sh9andmA
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) October 28, 2021
The pair of elite bantamweights will square off at Ethiad Arena on Yan Island for the interim bantamweight belt in the co-main event.
Yan was stripped of the bantamweight title in March after an illegal knee to a downed Aljamain Sterling ended a fight he was dominating up until that point. Sterling was not cleared to compete Saturday, as he is still recovering from neck surgery for an injury dating back to his college wrestling days.
“No Mercy” and his recent championship foe have also engaged in a bitter war of words over social media since. Yan said Saturday is his chance to turn the page.
“I’m not thinking about Sterling anymore,” he said of the feud. “It’s a waste of time thinking about someone who doesn’t want to fight me again.”
UFC 267 takes place on Saturday from Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The event kicks off with preliminary action at 10:30 am ET on ESPN, then is followed by the main card pay-per-view exclusively on ESPN+ at 2 pm ET. The event is headlined by a light heavyweight title bout pitting defending champ Jan Blachowicz against Glover Teixeira.
–Field Level Media
