The bantamweight title will be on the line in the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Champion Merab Dvalishvili takes on No. 4 ranked Cory Sandhagen in his third title defense.
Dvalishvili will enter the fight as a heavy betting favorite, but knows Sandhagen is no easy fight.
“I know a lot of people think I’ve got this fight easy, but no, definitely no because it’s a new fight for me. Cory is a dangerous opponent. I have so much respect for him as a fighter and human being,” Dvalishvili told MMAJunkie.
“Cory Sandhagen is a dangerous opponent. It’s hard to stop him. He has submission games. He has knockout games. He has good cardio, good takedown defense, good footwork, and I can go on and on.”
If things go as planned, Dvalishvili wants to be the first person to stop Sandhagen via knockout.
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“I’m looking for a first knockout because I’m working on my striking, and we’ll see. I’m working on my striking and this fight most is going to go on the feet,” said the champion. “Of course I’m going to exchange some punches with him, and that’s the goal, but it’s an MMA fight and we have to be ready for everything.”
If he’s victorious on Oct. 4, Dvalishvili wants a quick turnaround. He’d like to fight again in December. It would be his fourth title defense this year, and he has an opponent in mind.
“I want to ask them (UFC) the favor to fight fourth time this year. If I win. First I have to win this fight, and I’m very focused because I don’t think it’s going to be an easy fight for me,” Dvalishvili said.
“If I win this fight, I want to come back quick and give Petr Yan his fight because he’s like the clear contender right now and he’s the most deserving guy in my weight class.”
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