Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen Preview & Picks
Merab Dvalishvili is backed to retain the bantamweight title by decision.
Dvalishvili has made a career out of taking down opponents and smothering them for five rounds, and that trend is likely to continue here.
- Merab Dvalishvili is on a 13-fight win streak
- 15 of Merab Dvalishvili’s 20 career wins have been by decision
- Merab Dvalishvili averages 5.84 takedowns per 15 minutes
- 18 of Merab Dvalishvili’s 24 career fights have gone the distance
Merab Dvalishvili Form
Merab Dvalishvili is the reigning and defending UFC bantamweight champion with a professional record of 20-4 (3 KOs, 2 Subs).
Dvalishvili made his UFC debut in late 2017 and got off to a nightmare start as he lost his first two fights, dropping a split decision to Frankie Saenz before being submitted by Ricky Simon.
He rallied the followed the year though, beating Terrion Ware by unanimous decision, and that proved to be the start of a 13-fight win streak that propelled him to the summit.
The 34-year-old Georgian then out-pointed Brad Katona, Casey Kenney, Gustavo Lopez, John Dodson and Cody Stamann, before finally ending his stoppage drought in September 2021.
Dvalishvili’s first stoppage win in the UFC came at the expense of Marlon Moraes, who he knocked out in the second round.
Over his next three fights ‘The Machine’ took out a bunch of former champions to secure his title shot, beating Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo on points.
He then became UFC bantamweight champion in September of last year as he dethroned Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision.
Dvalishvili has made two successful defences in 2025 already, beating Umar Nurmagomedov on points before submitting O’Malley in the third round of their rematch.
Cory Sandhagen Form
Cory Sandhagen is the number four ranked bantamweight contender with a career record of 18-5 (8 KOs, 3 Subs).
Sandhagen debuted in the UFC in January 2018, and made a flying start as he reeled off three straight stoppage wins.
He knocked out both Austin Arnett and Iuri Alcantara in the second round, before submitting Mario Bautista in the first.
The 33-year-old stepped up the level of opposition after that and the wins kept coming as he edged John Lineker by split decision before out-pointing Raphael Assuncao.
However, Sandhagen’s rise was brought to a shuddering halt in June 2020 when the was summited by Aljamain Sterling in the first round of their title eliminator fight.
‘The Sandman’ rebounded with a second-round knockout of Marlon Moraes, and he backed that up with a 28-second demolition of Frankie Edgar.
His momentum stalled again though, as he lost via split decision to TJ Dillashaw before losing an interim title fight with Petr Yan by unanimous decision.
Sandhagen rallied once more, stopping Song Yadong before out-pointing Marlon Vera and Rob Font, but he again lost a title eliminator fight as he was beaten on points by Umar Nurmagomedov.
He put those losses behind him in May though, as he beat Deiveson Figueiredo by TKO.