Petr Yan: John Lineker is an ‘easy matchup’, Cory Sandhagen ‘fights like an amateur’

MMAfighting.com

John Lineker was one of Petr Yan’s main targets when he initially signed for the UFC, but the idea of him facing the Brazilian berserker has been dampened by his recent loss to Cory Sandhagen.

Lineker was one ranking spot head of Yan before his meeting with Sandhagen and the Russian will likely surpass “Hands of Stone” in the standings with a victory Jimmie Rivera at UFC 238.

As far as Yan is concerned, there is no reason to fight Lineker if he is ahead of him in his quest for the title. However, if the UFC tell him that the fight would put him closer to title contention, he insists that he would be happy to take it.

“If somehow he is still ranked higher than me, then I will fight him, but if he’s going to be ranked lower than me, I don’t see the interest in fighting him,” Yan told Eurobash through a translator. “But if it’s a fight that the UFC wants, if it’s a fight that will bring me closer to the title, I will take this fight.”

Based on his description of Lineker, Yan believes it would be an easy night’s work if he ever locked horns with the power puncher.

“His head is bigger than his body; it’s hard not to hit him,” the Russian added. “He’s got a big head and he throws wide punches, so it’s an easy matchup for me.”

Although Sandhagen has been widely praised for his 4-0 run with the UFC, Yan thinks the American “fights like an amateur”.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Cory fight, I can tell he’s a striker. He has a good striking style, but I can see that he still fights like an amateur. He landed hundreds and hundreds of punches and never had Lineker in real trouble. He’s like a point fighter and I see holes in his wrestling and grappling too.

“I would like to f*ck him up in the future too,” Yan said.