Cory Sandhagen might have his hands full with this version of Merab Dvalishvili.
We’re weeks away from the next bantamweight title fight between champion Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen, which co-headlines UFC 320 on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas. The main event is a light heavyweight title rematch between champ Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira.
‘The Machine’ looks to defend his title for a third time after picking up his first finish in four years—a third-round submission of Sean O’Malley at UFC 316.
Wrestling pressure combined with unreal cardio and indomitable will makes Dvalishvili a nightmare matchup for the bantamweight division, especially across championship rounds.
According to his coach, we haven’t even seen the best Dvalishvili yet.
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John Wood teases ‘brutal’ version of Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 320
In the past, Dvalishvili has been criticized for the slew of decision wins on his resume and his takedown-heavy fighting style, which has proven to be very effective.
But after submitting O’Malley in New Jersey, it seems as though Dvalishvili is evolving into a much more violent fighter.
“That man is on a tear in the gym,” Dvalishvili’s head coach John Wood told Home of Fight.
“I can’t even express or explain how much better he is and how much better he’s getting in this camp, it’s almost jaw-dropping,” said Wood.
“Everybody in the gym is buzzing about him. Everybody in the gym is going like, holy, where did this come from? Where did this version of this guy come from?
“It really is just Merab believing in himself in a different fashion now. He’s not just this grinder. He’s not just this guy who’s going to take you down a thousand times.
“He’s now looking to hurt you. He’s now looking to finish you. He’s now looking to create, just entertaining, devastating fights…
“I think that you’re going to see a whole different Merab in this fight that is going to be just brutal and even funner to watch,” Wood predicted.
Sandhagen has only been finished once, and that was first-round submission to Dvalishvili’s main teammate, former champion Aljamain Sterling.
Merab Dvalishvili hasn’t had a knockout in four years
Next week will mark four years since Dvalishvili has won by knockout.
The last time Dvalishvili stopped someone with strikes was when he TKO’ed Marlon Moraes in a back-and-forth battle at UFC 266 in 2021.
Of course, Dvalishvili’s forte isn’t his KO power, it’s his grappling skills and high-level cardio.
But, it was a picture-perfect knockout that got Dvalishvili into the premier promotion—a 15-second spinning backfist knockout of former Bellator champion Raufeon Stots in 2017.