"He's got that toughness" - T.J. Dillashaw previews Cory Sandhagen vs. Petr Yan at UFC 267

TJ Dillashaw (left) and Petr Yan vs Cory Sandhagen (right) [Image credits: @petr_yan on Instagram]

T.J. Dillashaw has weighed in on the upcoming interim bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen.

The former UFC bantamweight champion recently appeared on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour. During the interaction, the Californian discussed various topics, including his recent knee injury, his next fight and his thoughts on the potential featherweight title fight between Henry Cejudo and Alexander Volkanovski.

At one point during the chat, the 35-year-old shared his thoughts on the upcoming interim title fight between Sandhagen and Yan at UFC 267.

"To be honest, I think it's a little bit of a toss-up, you know. Yan's got that grit, he's got that toughness. He's got that mental toughness and he's pretty well-rounded. Cory's flashy and dangerous on his feet. I can see it going either way, depends on who puts the ball in their court. Yan does have that championship mentality, which I do think Cory's made an improvement on, his mentality, but I just don't think it's 100 percent all the way there, you know."

Catch T.J. Dillashaw's appearance on The MMA Hour below:

Yan was originally scheduled to take on Aljamian Sterling in a rematch on October 30. Unfortunately, 'Funk Master' had to pull out of the fight after not getting medical clearance due to lingering issues surrounding his neck. Thus, an interim title bout was set up between 'The Sandman' and 'No Mercy'.

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T.J. Dillashaw defeated Cory Sandhagen in July

After serving a two-year suspension following a positive EPO test, T.J. Dillashaw returned to action in July. He fought Cory Sandhagen in a five-round main event.

The fight was a close contest that ended in a split-decision victory for the former champ. The three judges scored the fight 47-48, 48-47 and 48-47 in the 35-year-old's favor.

*@TJDillashaw has (re)entered the chat* #UFCVegas32 https://t.co/hyZmoP3GrH

At the post-fight press conference, T.J. Dillashaw revealed that he had walked into the fight with multiple lingering injuries. An early knee injury in the headlining clash also forced him to undergo surgery soon after his return.