UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili kept a keen eye on how the Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo fight played out.
Former UFC interim title challenger Cory Sandhagen made a strong case for a lineal shot at the belt with his performance at UFC Des Moines. Despite Deiveson Figueiredo having some dangerous moments on the ground, Sandhagen outscrambled him multiple times, and Sandhagen picked up the pace in Round 2.
As Sandhagen landed a big takedown in the second round and assumed top position, he landed a series of ground-and-pound strikes that landed flush. But the action would stop with about a minute left in the round after Figueiredo appeared to suffer a leg injury.
It was a disappointing setback for Figueiredo and an important bounce-back performance from Sandhagen, who was coming off a recent defeat to Umar Nurmagomedov.
Merab Dvalishvili answers Cory Sandhagen’s UFC Des Moines callout
Sandhagen is one of the few top bantamweight contenders who haven’t faced Merab Dvalishvili or Sean O’Malley in their careers. Dvalishvili is set to face O’Malley in a bantamweight title rematch at UFC 316 next month.
After defeating Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines, Sandhagen called out Dvalishvili and O’Malley for his next fight, and also pleaded his case to serve as the UFC 316 backup.
In a recent video posted to his X account, Dvalishvili congratulated Sandhagen on his UFC Des Moines finish.
“Good job Cory, let’s go! Congratulations my friend, great job,” Dvalishvili replied to Sandhagen.
Dvalishvili defended his belt against Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 before getting the rematch booking against O’Malley. He’ll look to hand O’Malley a similar result to their first fight he won by unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September.
O’Malley hasn’t fought since UFC 306 and decided to hold out for an immediate rematch against Dvalishvili. Sandhagen has one career UFC title fight, a short-notice interim title loss to Petr Yan at UFC 267.
Regardless of who wins at UFC 316, Sandhagen is the likely next man up in the bantamweight title picture. Nurmagomedov, who defeated Sandhagen by decision last year, hasn’t been booked since UFC 311.
Merab Dvalishvili received ‘magnificent’ label from Conor McGregor
Dvalishvili recently drew high praise from UFC superstar Conor McGregor on social media. In a recent post to X, McGregor lauded Dvalishvili as ‘magnificent’ as he praised the bantamweight champion’s lengthy win streak.
Meanwhile, O’Malley got some recent work in with a UFC legend ahead of UFC 316. During a brief meetup in Arizona, O’Malley and former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya trained together in now-viral footage.
As of this writing, it’s uncertain if Sandhagen will serve as the backup at UFC 316, or if the UFC will allow him to rest and avoid another stark weight cut. Regardless, Sandhagen getting the UFC 316 winner next shouldn’t be a surprise.
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