Athletes
Merab Dvalishvili | Machine Learning
Bantamweight Champ Continues To Improve Amidst Dominant Run Atop Division
Bantamweight titleholder Merab Dvalishvili had used every minute of his allotted time over his previous five fights heading into his championship rematch with Sean O’Malley earlier this year at UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey. Over that five-fight run, which began with his victory over former featherweight champ Jose Aldo and ran through his UFC 311 rally to defeat Umar Nurmagomedov in his first title defense of the year, “The Machine” had logged 105 minutes of Octagon time — 21 total rounds — to ascend to and cement his standing atop the 135-pound weight class.
So it’s not surprising that things felt a little different for Dvalishvili after he submitted O’Malley late in the third round to extend his winning streak to a baker’s dozen and register his second successful title defense of the year.
Order UFC 320: Ankalaev vs Pereira 2
“It was good and quick and easy, but after I finished him, end of that round, I was missing something; I wanted more fight because I had two more rounds left,” Dvalishvili said, laughing, but completely serious at the same time when asked about recording his first finish since stopping Marlon Moraes at UFC 266 last week ahead of his clash with Cory Sandhagen on Saturday night at UFC 320. “I wanted more takedowns to break my record and stuff like that, but the finish was — I feel a big difference after the finish, and I’m fine with that.”
The idea that Dvalishvili was both a little disappointed he didn’t get to expend his usual 25 minutes of conditioning and able to get O’Malley out of there in a tidier fashion than their first encounter should worry anyone hoping to wrestle the bantamweight title away from the dominant Georgian. Before UFC 316, the major concern in facing Dvalishvili was dealing with his relentless pressure and pace, which usually manifested in the form of an endless barrage of takedown attempts and mat returns.
UFC 320 Countdown | Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
UFC 320 Countdown | Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen
/
But in the preamble to that second encounter with O’Malley, the champion’s longtime teammate Aljamain Sterling and his head coach John Wood spoke about how they wanted to prioritize settling positions and pursuing finishes. During the fight, when the first opportunity Dvalishvili had to attack the neck and secure the finish presented itself, he pounced, forcing O’Malley to tap and sending another scary message to the rest of the division: as good as he is, the champion is still improving and evolving.
The best part is that he wants to stay as active as possible, which means we should continue to see him make the walk as frequently as the UFC can book him.
UFC 320 FULL FIGHTS: Ankalaev vs Pereira 1 | Pereira vs Hill | Dvalishvili vs O'Malley 2 | Sandhagen vs Figueiredo
“I want to be busy, I want to challenge myself more, stay disciplined,” said Dvalishvili, who is the only champion to have defended their title twice this year, and is already eyeing a fourth appearance before his third fight of 2025 is already in the books. “I’m healthy, I love this, and I want to be busy.
“I want to have four (fights) this year,” continued the champion, who has targeted December for another appearance, provided everything goes according to plan against Sandhagen. “This would be a real good opportunity if the UFC will give me the chance. I want to do the most. I want to enjoy this because I’m healthy, I’m ready, and I don’t want to waste time.”
The fact that he’s jumping straight back into the fray against Sandhagen proves that Dvalishvili is a man of his word, as the matchup against the 33-year-old challenger is dangerous and compelling, but does not carry the same potential legacy impact as his last two fights.
Full Fight | Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O'Malley 2
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Full Fight | Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O'Malley 2
/
This is a high-risk, low-reward fight for the champion, but he wants to stay active and is intrigued by the notion of a fresh matchup and trying to figure out how to beat his talented, Colorado-based foe this weekend.
“Cory Sandhagen is a great fighter and he finished fighters like Frankie Edgar and Marlon Moraes, he has a win over (Mario) Bautista, who has looked good, and he was always fighting the best guys in the division,” Dvalishvili said of the challenger, who enters off a second-round stoppage win over Deiveson Figueiredo and having won four of his last five. “He’s the most deserving guy right now. He’s always ready to go and bring it, and he’s the most deserving guy right now.
WATCH: UFC 320 Main Event Preview
“We’ve never fought each other — he’s a new challenge, a new fight for me — and I’m excited for this fight. We know that styles make fights, and Cory Sandhagen might be a hard style for me because he’s tall, he’s changing his stances, and he has good cardio, good takedown defense. He attacks leg locks, he has good jiu jitsu, flying knees, spinning kicks; he’s very dangerous.
“We all know it only takes one second and that’s why this excited me, and I’m motivated.”
Motivation has never been an issue for Dvalishvili, as his nickname comes in part because of his maniacal drive and preparation, but if he was looking for any, the potential of collecting accolades and heaps of praise for the year he’s putting together has added a little something extra to his preparations.
“It’s always nice when people recognize hard work and appreciate (what you’re doing); it’s always nice,” said Dvalishvili, who was the top fighter in our Half-Year Awards back in June and was announced as one of the finalists for Fighter of the Year at the annual World MMA Awards last month.
UFC 320 COUNTDOWN: Full Episode | Ankalaev vs Pereira | Dvalishvili vs Sandhagen
A third successful title defense this year could very well ensure that he takes home some hardware at the end of the year, but what the 34-year-old Georgian values even more is the satisfying feeling of victory after another hard training camp.
“Of course, these awards or stuff like that feels good, but nothing feels better than having a fight, training hard, fighting, and winning easy,” he said, smiling. “Nothing compares to when you win the fight and maybe 24 hours after the fight, you just relax.”
Dvalishvili pantomimed sinking into a deep chair or sofa, letting out an audible exhale before laughing.
“You don’t have to think about the fight, you know you did something good, (conquered) a big challenge. I’m sure every fighter does this because when you know you’re fighting your next opponent, I’m sure you’re training hard because you know your opponent is training hard, so you cannot miss any practice; you have to do your best. When training camp will be done, weight cut will be done, and finally, in the fight, when you beat your opponent, this feels the best.”
So does this mean that “The Machine” will actually take a little downtime following this weekend’s bout with Sandhagen.
“Yes, one day, for sure; just enjoy and not think about the fight,” said Dvalishvili, who has been known to get right back to work following his fights. “Give the fans, some family members love back, some time spent with them; this is the best.”
Before he can take a whole day off, he needs to get through Saturday’s showdown with Sandhagen at T-Mobile Arena, and just like ahead of his fight with O’Malley in June, Dvalishvili is talking about bringing a little something new to the Octagon again this weekend.
“I’m looking to knock him out; that’s what I’m looking for, but we’ll see,” he said, making sure to acknowledge the difficulty of putting away a guy like Sandhagen and the myriad variables that factor into how each fight plays out. “It’s an MMA fight, but I’m gonna show my hands more.
“It’s gonna be more striking and I’m looking to knock him out.”
UFC 320: Ankalaev vs Pereira 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 4, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
Tags