Merab Dvalishvili could reach untouched milestone Georges St-Pierre came the closest to at UFC 320

Merab Dvalishvili targets 100 takedowns in the UFC against Cory Sandhagen

To continue his reign, Dvalishvili must beat Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320. The pair will co-headline the Las Vegas pay-per-view in the first of two title fights, preceding the main event between light heavyweight king Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira.

While talk of takedowns will be prominent ahead of the main event, the all-time leader in that regard will also make the walk at T-Mobile Arena.

Dvalishvili has the most takedowns in UFC history with 97, and the Georgian standout has triple digits in his sights ahead of UFC 320.

“I think I will have 100 takedowns after this fight,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie. “I’m not going to focus on that because I’m going to focus more on striking, but I think it will come naturally, you know?

“When I finished Sean O’Malley at the end of the third round, I was missing something. I wanted to do more takedowns, more fighting.

“Let’s see how our fight goes (at UFC 320),” Dvalishvili continued. “If we fight five rounds, easy, I will get three takedowns — easy. I will hit the 100 takedowns. No problem.”

Cory Sandhagen surpassed Georges St-Pierre to set a new record

The closest to hitting 100 takedowns in the UFC was welterweight legend Georges St-Pierre, who achieved 90 before hanging up his gloves after securing two-division title glory up at middleweight in 2017.

Dvalishvili surpassed St-Pierre’s record this past January during his fight against Nurmagomedov, which co-headlined the UFC 311 pay-per-view in Los Angeles.

Across Dvalishvili’s five-round win over Nurmagomedov, the Georgian secured seven takedowns, bringing his overall tally to 92 at the time.

Another six against Sean O’Malley at UFC 316 in June have moved ‘The Machine’ to within touching distance of becoming the first takedown centurion on MMA’s biggest stage.