Merab Dvalishvili Ready To “Throw Hands” And Have A Striking War With Cory Sandhagen

Merab Dvalishvili plans on throwing hands with Cory Sandhagen.

Returning to the Octagon for the second time in 2025, ‘The Machine’ will look to secure his third bantamweight title defense when he puts his gold up for grabs against Sandhagen in the UFC 320 co-main event.

Sitting on a 13-fight win streak, Dvalishvili is best known for his wrestle-heavy attack that has taken him from contender to world champion. But this weekend, the Georgian plans on showing the world that his stand-up game is just as dangerous as his work on the mat.

“Training camp has been very good. I’m focusing more on my striking, excited to throw hands on Cory Sanhagen,” Dvalishvili said in the first episode of UFC 320 Embedded. “I have to keep my belt on October 4th here in Las Vegas. Every challenger presents some type of problem for Morab. His style is really hard to stop. Cory presents problems, but we have prepared well and given him the right looks to be ready. I’m confident to defend my title.”

It’s been more than four years since Dvalishvili had KO’d an opponent, that coming against Marlon Moraes all the way back at UFC 266. It still stands as his only knockout inside the Octagon.

Meanwhile, Sandhagen goes into his long-awaited 135-pound title shot with six KOs against 11 finishes under the UFC banner, his most recent coming against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines early this year. In fact, it was that win that earned ‘Sandman’ his shot at Dvalishvili this Saturday night.

Dvalishvili is a heavy favorite less than a week away from fight night, with some sportsbooks giving him odds as high as 4-to-1 over his +300 challenger.