Dana White is looking forward to seeing Merab Dvalishvili in another rematch.
‘The Machine’ went 2-0 in fights with Sean O’Malley as he scored a third-round submission win to defend his bantamweight belt at UFC 316 on Saturday night.
Last time out, Merab Dvalishvili outpointed Umar Nurmagomedov over five rounds at UFC 311.
Dana White wants to see the 135lb duo square off again, but the UFC CEO says that fight won’t happen next.
What’s next for Merab Dvalishvili?
Merab Dvalishvili used his post-fight interview to call for a fight with Cory Sandhagen.
Last month, the top bantamweight contender beat Deiveson Figueiredo by TKO at UFC Des Moines.
That win makes Sandhagen 4-1 in the last five fights, with the only blip coming against Nurmagomedov.
It seems he has done enough to convince White to book him in a 135lb title fight with Dvalishvili.
The MMA mogul hinted that might be next while discussing the greatest bantamweights of all time.
“Yeah,” White said when asked if he regards Dvalishvili as the best his division has ever seen during the UFC 316 post-fight press conference. “He’s definitely there and he will keep racking them up, I’m sure.
“The Umar rematch is interesting. It makes your legacy even better when you’ve ran through everybody twice.”
A reporter followed up by asking: “Do you think that fight will happen before the Cory Sandhagen fight?”
“No, I’m just saying,” White replied to seemingly confirm he plans to make Dvalishvili vs Sandhagen next.
Cory Sandhagen reacts to Merab Dvalishvili’s UFC 316 win
Cory Sandhagen had nothing but nice words for Merab Dvalishvili as he recapped UFC 316.
“Merab did an awesome job,” he told ESPN MMA.
“I kind of anticipated Merab was gonna look better in this fight.
“He did awesome, he got the finish, and me and Merab have a really good rapport, so I’m happy for him.”
Looking ahead to their potential fight, ‘The Sandman’ revealed his plan is to KO Dvalishvili.
Sandhagen added: “When Merab decides to get aggressive, he gets aggressive, and I’m looking forward to that.
“Merab is the best guy in the division, maybe one of the best guys in the UFC, and I want to take that guy out.
“You’ve got to knock that guy out. That’s it, you’ve gotta knock that guy out.
“We’ll see what the UFC says on the time and date.”