Merab Dvalishvili continues his successful career in the octagon, solidifying his position at the top of the UFC bantamweight category with his fourteenth consecutive victory. In a dominant fight, Dvalishvili demonstrated his superiority against Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event of UFC 320 held Saturday night in Las Vegas. Dvalishvili, with a record of 21-4, defended his title for the third time, taking total control of the fight in the second round. He managed to take Sandhagen down with a series of blows and completed eight of the thirteen takedown attempts. In this round, Dvalishvili connected 33 significant strikes, while Sandhagen only managed two. From that moment on, Sandhagen was mostly on the defensive. Although he didn’t give up like other Dvalishvili opponents, he never posed a serious threat to the champion. The judges ruled a score of 49-45, 49-45 and 49-46 in favor of Dvalishvili.
The wrestling is, without a doubt, the most outstanding aspect of Dvalishvili’s game. Throughout the five rounds, his pressure in wrestling was relentless, attempting 37 takedowns and landing 20, which represents a UFC record for a title fight and the second-highest amount in any match inside the octagon. This was the fifth fight in which Dvalishvili achieved 10 or more takedowns, extending his own UFC record for total takedowns, which now amounts to 117. Dvalishvili’s winning streak is the fourth longest in UFC history. He hasn’t lost a fight since April 2018 and currently leads the bantamweight rankings, as well as holding the number 3 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. Sandhagen, 33 years old and originally from Aurora, Colorado, was looking to become the only male 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
