Merab Dvalishvili Solidifies His Dominance in the UFC Bantamweight Division
Merab Dvalishvili continues his impressive winning streak, successfully defending the UFC bantamweight championship with his fourteenth consecutive victory. In a dominant encounter, Dvalishvili outmatched Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event of UFC 320 held Saturday night in Las Vegas. Dvalishvili (21-4), defending his belt for the third time, took total control in the second round. He took Sandhagen down with a series of strikes and achieved eight takedowns out of 13 attempts. In that round, Dvalishvili landed 33 significant strikes, while Sandhagen only managed two. From that moment on, Sandhagen remained mainly defensive. Although he didn’t wear down like other Dvalishvili opponents, he never posed a serious threat to the champion. The judges scored the fight 49-45, 49-45, and 49-46.Dvalishvili’s most outstanding facet of the game is his wrestling. Throughout the five rounds, he maintained relentless pressure, attempting 37 takedowns and connecting 20, a UFC record for a title fight and the second-most in any Octagon bout. This was the fifth fight in which Dvalishvili achieved 10 or more takedowns, extending his own UFC record to a total of 117. Dvalishvili’s winning streak is the fourth longest in UFC history. He hasn’t lost a fight since April 2018 and is at the top of the bantamweight rankings, as well as being number 3 pound-for-pound. Sandhagen (18-6), 33 years old and originally from Aurora, Colorado, was looking to become the only American champion.Remember, I said my plan was to knock him out. Almost, almost. Now I think people will respect my striking too.
Merab Dvalishvili
