Merab Dvalishvili’s mission to establish himself as the best bantamweight of all time continues on Saturday night.
The 135lb champion will defend his belt against Cory Sandhagen in the UFC 320 co-main event.
Merab Dvalishvili could put himself in the UFC history books by defending his title for a third time this weekend.
Cory Sandhagen has the ability to crush his dreams by scoring a one-shot knockout and pulling off a huge upset.
The Bloody Elbow staff have made their feelings on this fight very clear ahead of UFC 320.
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Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen predictions
Jordan: “I can absolutely see Cory Sandhagen catching and knocking out Merab Dvalishvili with a shot as he rushes in for a takedown. Do I think it’s going to happen at UFC 320? No. The bantamweight champion has been brilliant for years and deserves to be the heavy favorite heading into his third title defense. I simply can’t back against him.”
MERAB DVALISHVILI BY SUBMISSION
Donagh: “Merab Dvalishvili looks unbeatable, and Cory Sandhagen is far from the elite of the bantamweight division. However, these types of matchups often lead to an upset – think Michael Bisping vs Luke Rockhold 2 in 2016 – and the champion is never too far from one of his infamous moments, like knocking himself out. I’m going to be bold and predict a Cory Sandhagen TKO in the later rounds.”
CORY SANDHAGEN VIA KO
Kyle: “There are so many things that make me want to pick Sandhagen, from his fight IQ to his trickiness. Unfortunately, I think the one thing that might stop ‘The Sandman’ from being a champion is the era he’s in, because Merab is on a tear. We’ve not seen him ever have to change his approach, and I think that’ll be the same here.”
MERAB DVALISHVILI BY DECISION
TalkingPoints
Who wins the UFC 320 co-main event?
Jamie: “Cory Sandhagen has shown over his last few fights that he’s not just a striker, but it has proved near impossible for anyone to keep Merab off of them. ‘The Machine’ will once again put on an impressive performance and continue his legacy as the greatest bantamweight of all time.”
MERAB DVALISHVILI BY DECISION
Harvey: Merab Dvalishvili simply looks unstoppable right now. I expect Cory Sandhagen to test that more than Sean O’Malley did in June, but I ultimately still think this will be another classic performance from ‘The Machine’, with his five-round pace, cardio, and smothering grappling getting the job done on the scorecards.”
MERAB DVALISHVILI BY DECISION
Chris: “I believe Cory Sandhagen is more prepared to fight Merab Dvalishvili after facing Umar Nurmagomedov, who he has said is an equal or better wrestler than Dvalishvili. That being said, it’s hard to imagine Sandhagen’s takedown defense has drastically improved since their fight from last year, and with Dvalishvili’s takedown threat, I think Dvalishvili will be able to outwork and outpace Sandhagen across five rounds. It won’t be easy, as Sandhagen’s striking can cause problems, especially if Dvalishvili plans to strike for long. But his all-around game should be enough to hold off Sandhagen from getting the undisputed title.”
MERAB DVALISHVILI BY DECISION
Ross: “While I’m glad Sandhagen has finally received his shot at bantamweight gold, I think timing-wise, it’s come at the worst time possible, given Merab’s dominant reign. Against any other champion from the past, I would lean heavily toward Sandhagen, given how technically sound he is everywhere. However, Dvalishvili has proved unsolvable as champion thus far, and I expect that to continue with another resounding decision win.”
MERAB DVALISHVILI BY DECISION