Former Champ Gives Take On ‘Coin Flip’ Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Cory Sandhagen Title Fight at UFC 320

Former 135-pound champ Sean O’Malley says that the fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen is much closer than most people think.

Former Champ Gives Take On ‘Coin Flip’ Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Cory Sandhagen Title Fight at UFC 320

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen to be closer than people give credit for (Source: X)

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Former UFC 135-pound champ Sean O’Malley recently gave his two cents about yet another ‘Suga’-free PPV title fight. On a 13-fight win streak, reigning kingpin Merab Dvalishvili has already made two title defenses this year; one with O’Malley. His next challenge comes in the form of No.4-ranked 135-pound contender Cory Sandhagen at the October 4th PPV PPV (UFC 320) at T-Mobile Arena.

UFC CEO Dana White dropped the fight news this Tuesday, and the promotion confirmed it later with outlets. Merab Dvalishvili has been one hell of a dominant ushering force at bantamweight and is the prize for many. He is fresh off a PPV title defense at UFC 316 this June.

UFC Des Moines headliner ‘Sandman’ emerged as a top contender for gold after he TKO’ed former two-time flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in under two rounds. Now, O’Malley pitches in on how Cory Sandhagen could fare against the champ.

How do I see that fight playing out? …[Uhm] I fought Merab twice, beat him once, lost to him once… I’m just kidding. Cory’s got really good wrestling scrambles. He did really good against Umar…was able to scramble very well. I wouldn’t say he really gassed, but he definitely got a little bit tired whereas Merab just he just doesn’t get [really] tired…If Cory’s well-versed in the 50-50 [phase], the leg game—I’m curious if he will cause scrambles that way, maybe threaten some submissions — fu*king coin flip, I think.

Sean O’Malley on his Official YT Channel

Dvalishvili is obviously the betting favorite going into the bout. His UFC competition TDs and a 49 single-fight attempt at UFC Fight Night 221 were only behind Georges St-Pierre; at 92 TDs, now, it’s not. The Georgian ‘Machine’ has also logged 1,950 total strikes, which is the highest going rate in the weight class.

The champ is the only fighter in active competition to have logged 10 or more TD attempts in 4 different bouts. He is also a stat leader for the single-fight UFC/WEC bantamweight bout striking differentials, more so than apt strikers! Dvalishvili is definitely the most prolific grappler in the division and can also stand his ground and punctuate volume strikes, coupled with monster cardio.

However, O’Malley presented this isn’t a linear case of grappler vs. slugger or a (at par) set of skills like how it was when he shut down Umar Nurmagomedov’s wrestling. Cory Sandhagen’s prowess is multifaceted and not just as a god striker.

His bout against Rob Font was where he aptly demonstrated his ability to engage in wrestling for a full twenty-five minutes. So it might be a coin toss after all. But Sandhagen has his own take on why Dvalishvili’s usual tricks won’t work on him.

Cory Sandhagen says that Merab Dvalishvili’s famous stamina won’t be ‘big’ factor of difference in title fight

Merab Dvalishvili, holding camp at Camp Syndicate MMA/Team Serra-Longo (Las Vegas), is known to be a mass practitioner. He goes to intensely long sparring sessions. A Judo black belt and multiple-time sambo titleholder, his gas tank and Coach Ray Longo’s didactics speak for themselves.

Cory Sandhagen is confident he can surpass the Merab Dvalishvili challenge
Cory Sandhagen is confident he can surpass the Merab Dvalishvili challenge (Source: X)

For a little bit of fight clarity and recap for the casuals, back at UFC 298 PPV in California, he ragdolled and carried Olympian Henry “Triple C” Cejudo like a sack! Not many, except Petr Yan, have been really able to thwart his extreme pace and pressure or break free. But, back in summer after Dvalishvili’s triumph in Newark, Cory Sandhagen had a different take.

Once billing the likes of ‘Suga’ as a one-trick pony, the Elevation Fight team standout said he could do more. To that end, during International Fight Week, he said he’s not O’Malley and spamming the same takedowns or carry-overs won’t work on him

I’m not gonna buy into the narrative that Merab is this unbeatable thing. I don’t think that he is. I think that I have some of the best conditioning as well, so he’s not gonna be able to get me tired like he has been able to with the other guys…I’m just not [another] O’Malley, you know…You’re not gonna take me down and hold me down. I’m not an Umar, where I’m gonna get tired in round four and five.

Cory Sandhagen to MMACrazy during IFW one-on-one ‘UFC X Radio Row 2025’ fighter interviews

For one, Sandhagen has claimed he will go the whole five-round stretch; for another, the challenger said the champ would have to fare against a lot of striking. UFC leaderboards have him slated with a 44% significant strike accuracy and about 3.46 strikes absorbed/minute (57 percent defense).

With a 63% TD defense rate and a proficiency to move around with a striking-heavy approach, Sandhagen is a tough cookie. Having gone through a murderer’s row of standout names like Renan Barao, the legendary Dominick Cruz, and former champ Cejudo, TJ Dillashaw still named Sandhagen as his toughest challenge. So it remains to be seen if the 33-year-old switch-striker can bring the same intensity against Dvalishvili.

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