Cory Sandhagen teases unique gameplan to face Merab Dvalishvili in likely next bantamweight title fight

Cory Sandhagen provides insight into unique gameplan to dethrone Merab Dvalishvili

Dvalishvili’s otherworldly conditioning has given his opponents fits during his career, most notably in recent wins over Henry Cejudo, Umar Nurmagomedov, and O’Malley. Sandhagen and Dvalishvili share a common opponent in Nurmagomedov, who defeated Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi last year in a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender.

Sandhagen took a big lesson away from the Nurmagomedov fight that he plans to utilize as the main focus for his showdown with Dvalishvili.

In a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Sandhagen was asked how he intends to prepare for the puzzle that Dvalishvili presents.

“His conditioning is a superpower that other people don’t get to have, and he weaponizes it in a really smart way,” Sandhagen said.

“Approaching Merab is going to be unique in its own way, but I don’t need to tailor what it is that I’m doing too much, to Merab. I’ve really bought into this idea where if I can go out and be the best martial artist that there is, in all areas, be able to wrestle with him, strike, grapple with him, if I can be that, I can do it. Against Umar, I didn’t do as good of a job of that, I treated him like I had to change for me to be able to beat him. Against Merab, I’m not going to do that…

“Merab has this narrative buzz around him when he’s an unbeatable force of nature who has conditioning out of wherever, and while that’s true to an extent, that doesn’t mean anything to the fact that the guy can’t be beaten,” Sandhagen continued. “If I look at myself as a fighter and break myself down technically, I’m somewhere between Umar and Sean [O’Malley] in the task that he’ll have in front of him. I wrestle a lot better than Sean does…I’m not going to read too much into it, I’m going to keep worrying about me leading all the way up to the fight, and I’m going to make Merab deal with me, instead of me having to deal with Merab.”

Sandhagen has shown a unique ability to bounce back emphatically from UFC setbacks. In the interview referenced above, Sandhagen revealed he dealt with a lot of ‘insecurity’ that got in the way of dealing with Nurmagomedov’s skillset.

That insecurity will have to be toned down by Sandhagen if he’s to dethrone Dvalishvili later this year. According to Sandhagen, the UFC is preparing a potentially massive venue for Dvalishvili and Sandhagen to clash in the Octagon.

Cory Sandhagen shared UFC’s tentative timeline for Merab Dvalishvili clash

Sandhagen shared that UFC matchmakers have told him and his team that they’re tentatively planning on booking the Dvalishvili fight for either November or December. The promotion usually books its annual Madison Square Garden card in November, which Sandhagen called a ‘dream’ opportunity in the sitdown with Joe Rogan.

Dvalishvili, who resided in the New York City area for majority of his earlier UFC tenure, would likely be up to facing Sandhagen in friendly territory. Dvalishvili wants to defend the belt at least two more times before the end of 2025, against Sandhagen and a potential rematch with Nurmagomedov.

Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen is the likely next fight to make in the UFC bantamweight division, and months out from a potential showdown, Sandhagen is in full-go mode as he prepares for the biggest matchup of his career.