Things got a little heated between Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen on Thursday.
The UFC Bantamweight title is on the line for a third time this year as champion Merab Dvalishvili attempts to tie Aljamain Sterling’s record for most consecutive title defenses at 135 lbs.
Dvalishvili defends his title against top contender Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event of UFC 320 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
This is Sandhagen’s first crack at the undisputed title after falling short in multiple title eliminators and an interim title fight against Petr Yan in 2021.
Besides Umar Nurmagomedov, Sandhagen has only lost to former champions in the UFC.
Winner of four out of his last five fights, ‘Sandman’ refused to back down when he faced off against Dvalishvili for the first time ahead of their title fight.
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Cory Sandhagen threatens Merab Dvalishvili in UFC 320 faceoff
Sandhagen and Dvalishvili exchanged words on stage at the UFC 320 press conference.
Earlier in the week, Dvalishvili suggested his next fight would be 90% striking, with the Georgian wrestler wanting to become the first fighter ever to knock out Sandhagen.
The bantamweights met face-to-face on Thursday and Dvalishvili simply told Sandhagen he’s ‘going down’.
Sandhagen wasn’t amused.
“Really?” Sandhagen responded to Dvalishvili.
“One hundred percent,” the champ replied.
“Really? That’s what you think?” Sandhagen added.
“I’m gonna put my knee through your face, Merab,” Sandhagen threatened.
“I’m gonna put my knee through your face…” Sandhagen repeated as Dana White separated them from each other.
Cory Sandhagen knocked out Frankie Edgar with a flying knee
Sandhagen’s last highlight-reel knockout came via flying knee.
Sandhagen was matched up with former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar at the UFC Apex in 2021, which began a brutal three-fight losing skid for the UFC Hall of Famer.
It took Sandhagen less than 30 seconds to find Edgar’s chin, lighting it up with a flush flying knee to send a stiff Edgar to the canvas.
Sandhagen’s flying knee KO was ranked as UFC.com’s third-best knockout of 2021.
We’ll see if Sandhagen can connect on Dvalishvili, who also has never been knocked out in his 24-fight career.