In the co-main event of UFC 320 this past Saturday night, the bantamweight title was on the line. Merab Dvalishvili (21-4) was defending his title against “The Sandman” Cory Sandhagen (18-6).
On paper, Sandhagen was one of the trickiest matchups for Dvalishvili in the division. Sandhagen has great striking and he’s very long for the division. He has very good grappling and his ability to scramble was going to make things interesting.
In the first round, Sandhagen proved he’d be a tough test for the champion with his ability to strike from range and keep the fight standing. However, the second round saw Dvalishvili take over. Dvalishvili rocked Sandhagen badly and nearly finished the fight. He took him down multiple times throughout that round for a clear 10-8 in my opinion.
Round three was also controlled by Dvalishvili and then the fourth round was very competitive. Sandhagen had his moments and you could have scored that either way. In the fifth round, Sandhagen had a moment at the end, but it was a round largely controlled by Dvalishvili. In the end, it was a clear win for Dvalishvili at UFC 320.
What’s next after UFC 320?
Dvalishvili didn’t take hardly any damage in what was his third successful title defense. Dvalishvili is now wanting to do something that’s never been done by a UFC champion and that’s defend his title for the fourth time inside a single calendar year.
In January, he defended his title against Umar Nurmagomedov. In June, he ran through Sean O’Malley in their rematch and this past weekend, he beat Cory Sandhagen. If the promotion decides he can fight in December, there’s really only one opponent.
That opponent is someone he’s familiar with in Petr Yan. Yan was dominated by Dvalishvili when they fought back in 2023, but he’s won three fights in a row. He should be next especially if the UFC is looking to turn Merab around quickly.
In a couple of weeks, Umar Nurmagomedov is facing Mario Bautista. Whoever wins that fight could also be next in line for a shot at Dvalishvili. Should Bautista win, I could see him entertaining a December bout with Dvalishvili. However, should Nurmagomedov win, I would imagine that he’d want more time to prepare for Dvalishvili after their first fight.
I think Nurmagomedov is going to win that fight and then it’ll ultimately come down to what the UFC wants to do. If Dvalishvili fights in December, he’s fighting Yan next. If they decide to hold him until 2026, I think you might see the Nurmagomedov rematch.
More about: MMA
