UFC 320 goes down this weekend (Oct. 4, 2025) and a fight that’s flying under many’s radar is Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen for the bantamweight title. That may be because bookies have Merab a powerful -385 favorite to the +285 dog Cory, but Sandhagen plans on shocking the world.
In an interview with Shak MMA, Sandhagen talked about the new level of confidence he has after settling in with coach Trevor Wittman, and how his style stacks up extremely well against Dvalishvili.
“He’s beaten a lot of really good guys, so he knows how to beat a bunch of styles,” Sandhagen said. “But the ones that he’s gotten really popular off are Umar by Umar getting way too tired. I don’t get tired.”
“He beat O’Malley because O’Malley was very tentative. He was looking for one shot, and he was slow to get up. So he kinda got outwrestled a little bit. I don’t get outwrestled. When I get taken down, I pop back up immediately. And I’ve proven that against Umar, who I think is equal if not better of a grappler than Marab is.”
“I’m honestly not very intimidated at all about his past wins,” he continued. “I think that I’m a completely different fighter who brings a completely different set of skills to the to the fight. And Merab’s way of winning is getting people tired and wrestling them, and no one’s ever beaten me like that. So how’s he gonna win?”
“That’s kind of the way that I’m viewing it. I think that it’s gonna be a striking match whether he likes it or not or whether he says he’s open to that or not. That’s what’s gonna happen, and, I just can’t see him winning.”
“He better hope that I catch a cold in the next week or something or get staph or have to be on antibiotics,” he concluded. “Because right now I’m in the best shape of my life, and I’m wrestling better than I’ve ever wrestled. So I just don’t see him winning that way.”
Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen serves as the co-main event for UFC 320, which is headlined by a Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira rematch for the light heavyweight title.
