"That would've been ridiculous" - Cory Sandhagen wasn't worried about the possibility of Sean O'Malley facing Petr Yan for the interim belt at UFC 267

Cory Sandhagen has revealed he wasn't worried about Sean O'Malley potentially facing Petr Yan at UFC 267.

'The Sandman' will face Yan at the event on October 30 in Abu Dhabi. The top-ranked bantamweight contenders will clash for the interim UFC bantamweight title.

During an appearance on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour, Sandhagen discussed the initial possibility of O'Malley, who expressed his willingness to face Yan, being chosen to replace the injured Aljamain Sterling. Sandhagen said:

"No, not really. I think that would have been kinda ridiculous for like, the real fans. Someone who hasn't even really fought in the top-10, for him to jump to a championship fight would have seem ridiculous. I think he [Sean O'Malley] would probably agree with that too."

Catch Cory Sandhagen's appearance on The MMA Hour below:

The current bantamweight champion was expected to defend his title against Yan at UFC 267. However, Sterling had to pull out of his scheduled rematch against 'No Mercy' due to lingering neck issues that he is dealing with.

'Sugar' had revealed that he was interested in fighting the Russian and was training to compete against him next month. The 26-year-old also claimed he would knock Yan out in the first round.

The former bantamweight champion lost his title to 'Funk Master' at UFC 259 in March. The Russian had dominated the fight, but he was disqualified for landing an illegal knee on Sterling in the fourth round.

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Cory Sandhagen lost his previous bout

Cory Sandhagen faced T.J. Dillashaw at UFC Vegas 32 in July. The thrilling main event bout went the distance. After five rounds, the returning Dillashaw was awarded a split decision victory.

Several MMA fans and fighters believe Sandhagen did enough to secure the win. The defeat was Sandhagen's second loss of his UFC career.

'The Sandman' suffered his first loss against current 135-pound champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 250. Sandhagen lost the bout against via submission in the very first round.

Next month's fight between Cory Sandhagen and Petr Yan will be the first instance in UFC history where two fighters coming off losses fight for a title.