"It's my title" - Petr Yan sends a message to Cory Sandhagen, vows to 'smash him'

Petr Yan recently took to Instagram to send a message to Cory Sandhagen ahead of their upcoming bout. In the video, 'No Mercy' can be seen jumping rope while vowing to smash Sandhagen at UFC 267 on October 30. The former bantamweight champion said:

"It's my title. Cory, 30 October, I smash you."

Watch Petr Yan's message to Cory Sandhagen below:

Petr Yan is set to face Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi. The two bantamweights will compete for the interim 135-pound title. Whoever wins the bout will likely face current champion Aljamain Sterling next.

Aljamain Sterling was initially set to face the Russian in a rematch for the title. However, 'Funk Master' had to withdraw from the bout due to lingering neck issues that he is dealing with.

Yan lost his title to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 in March. The Russian appeared to be nearing victory when he landed an illegal knee on Sterling in the fourth round that rendered the challenger unfit to continue.

'No Mercy' lost the bout via disqualification, making Sterling the first champion in UFC history to be crowned via DQ.

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Cory Sandhagen believes a win over Petr Yan will make him the real champion

Petr Yan is highly respected in the 135-pound division. Cory Sandhagen recently said he believes a win over Yan at UFC 267 will make him the "real champion." In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Sandhagen said:

“I think everyone sees Yan as the champ of the division, the best in the division. So I think in this case it will [count as a real championship]... now that I’m fighting for a UFC belt, even though it’s an interim one, it would feel like I was the champ. It would feel that way."

Watch Cory Sandhagen's interview with Ariel Helwani below:

Petr Yan had an incredible run in the UFC before facing Sterling. He was on a seven-fight win streak heading into his first title defense. 'No Mercy' defeated prominent fighters like Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber.

Sandhagen also revealed that he knew there was a possibility that Sterling might not be able to fight. This was because the champion had expressed earlier that he wanted to compete closer to the end of the year due to his neck surgery.

This foresight has helped him get almost an entire training camp in ahead of their bout. The fight between the two bantamweights will mark the first instance in UFC history where two fighters coming off a loss will fight for a title.