Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Merab Dvalishvili’s Coach Weighs In on the Cory Sandhagen Matchup After UFC 316 Win!

Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

At UFC 316 on June 7, 2025, Merab Dvalishvili reminded everyone about his greatness, and why you cannot doubt the man just because many of his victories have come via decision. The Georgian dismantled Sean O’Malley in their bantamweight title rematch, securing a third-round submission via north-south choke at Newark, New Jersey. Unlike their UFC 306 clash, with Dvalishvili dominated with wrestling for a unanimous decision, O’Malley showed a lot of improvement, stuffing a lot of the takedown attempts early and landing crisp strikes. However, Dvalishvili’s relentless pressure and cardio overwhelmed O’Malley, who faded in the third round.

Merab Dvalishvili is UNSTOPPABLE. pic.twitter.com/ORjkr9HZuO
— Full Violence ™ (@Full_Violence) June 8, 2025

Merab landed 5 of 12 takedowns takedowns, outstruck O’Malley by a whopping 135-34, and locked in a choke to force the former bantamweight champ to tap. O’Malley, however, was gracious in his defeat and showed that he’s grown a lot as a fighter and a more cool and calm person, than he was earlier in his career.

Merab Dvalishvili Dominates Sean O’Malley at UFC 316, Eyes Sandhagen Next

Merab Dvalishvili’s coach weighed in his take on the potential matchup with Cory Sandhagen in the future, saying, “It’ll be a fun fight but… Merab’s going to come out ahead on that one… I feel like we’ve kind of fought that style before. He is a tough guy. He’s tricky. But like I said for me, I know Merab and I know what he can do and I know what we’re going to do.”

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Post-fight Dvalishvili called out Cory Sandhagen, praising his skills and humor, signaling him as the next challenger. While Dana White, endorsed a Sandhagen fight but he also floated a rematch with Umar Nurmagomedov, whom Merab defeated at UFC 311, stating it would bolster Merab’s legacy by “running through everybody twice.” With a 13-fight win streak, Dvalishvili has a lot of options to choose from.

Cory Sandhagen

Merab Dvalishvili

UFC

Eric Divakaran

nba

nfl

mma

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