Merab Dvalishvili’s coach always thought Cory Sandhagen would be a UFC champion.
After 15 UFC appearances, four title eliminators and an interim title fight, the 33-year-old Sandhagen has finally arrived at his first undisputed title fight.
The #4-ranked UFC bantamweight contender goes up against arguably the greatest bantamweight champion of all time in Merab Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili is a 4-to-1 betting favorite to defend his title against Sandhagen in the co-main event of UFC 320 on Saturday.
Sandhagen is one of the most dangerous opponents Dvalishvili has faced to date. ‘Sandman’ has been backed by former UFC double-champ Henry Cejudo to snap Dvalishvili’s legendary 13-fight win streak.
Ahead of the fight, team Dvalishvili details why Sandhagen is such a big threat to the champion.
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Ray Longo says Cory Sandhagen is so dangerous because he has ‘absolutely nothing to lose’
Coach Ray Longo has long been in the corner of Dvalishvili.
Longo knew Sandhagen would fight Dvalishvili eventually, calling the American a ‘dangerous’ opponent for ‘The Machine’.
“I think the guy most similar to Sandhagen would be like an [Sean] O’Malley, and he’s got two wins over him, which I think is gonna help,” Longo said on the Anik & Florian Podcast.
“But, he’s always switching stances,” Longo added,
“I loved Cory from the beginning. I thought he was definitely gonna be a champion someday.
“Sometimes he just maybe overthinks things or something happens. So, I think this is his one opportunity. He’s coming in about as well prepared as he’s ever been for a fight.
“He’s dangerous to deal with because of the stance switching and he’s rangy,” Longo said of Sandhagen.
“The other guy, O’Malley, he’s coming forward. The footwork isn’t like Sandhagen’s. It might be harder to engage with him, so we’ll see what happens.
“Sandhagen, what scares me about him is he’s had losses and he’s come back,” Longo explained.
Besides Umar Nurmagomedov, Sandhagen has only lost to world champions inside the UFC.
“He’s been there. He got that monkey off his back when he was undefeated. Sometimes you go out to protect that, ‘I don’t wanna take a risk’, but he’s got nothing to lose.
“That’s what makes him dangerous. He’s got absolutely nothing to lose,” Longo said of Sandhagen.
Cory Sandhagen had no words for Merab Dvalishvili in final faceoff
On Thursday, Sandhagen met face-to-face for the first time.
After exchanging words at the UFC 320 press conference, Sandhagen told Dvalishvili he was going to put his knee through his face.
At the ceremonial weigh-ins, it was Dvalishvili who egged Sandhagen on.
“Bring your balls,” Dvalishvili told Sandhagen in their final faceoff before fight night.
If Dvalishvili wins, it’ll be his third successful title defense in 10 months.