Petr Yan once again has UFC gold around his waist.
Yan, a former undisputed bantamweight champion, defeated Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in the UFC 267 co-main event Saturday to capture the division's interim title in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Sandhagen started strong, using volume and pressure to likely win the first round. But Yan improved as the fight progressed. The 28-year-old rocked Sandhagen late in the third round and landed the more powerful strikes in the second half of the contest.
Yan also did a good job defending Sandhagen's takedown attempts, only giving up one level change in the fourth round before immediately returning to his feet.
With the victory, Yan sets up a title-unification bout against bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. The two were supposed to meet in a rematch at UFC 267, but Sterling withdrew due to lingering neck issues.
Sterling defeated Yan to win the belt in a controversial March bout, which ended in a disqualification after Yan landed an illegal knee while leading on the scorecards.
Yan improved to 8-1 in the UFC with Saturday's win. Sandhagen, 29, dropped his second straight fight.
