Merab Dvalishvili has never finished two consecutive opponents during his UFC career, but “The Machine” has the chance to change that at UFC 320.
The reigning bantamweight champion posted a video to social media Monday afternoon with a message for his upcoming opponent, Cory Sandhagen.
“I’m gonna knock out Cory Sandhagen,” Dvalishvili said. “I’m sorry, Cory. You’re going to sleep, baby.”
Dvalishvili, who could be seen hitting pads in the video, is coming off a submission win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 316 in June, which snapped a streak of five consecutive unanimous decision victories.
After losing in his first two UFC appearances, Dvalishvili has won 13 consecutive fights. Dvalishvili only has three knockout or technical knockout wins in mixed martial arts since 2014 — his only KO/TKO win in the UFC was over Marlon Moraes in 2021.
The only time Sandhagen has been finished in his pro career was back in 2020 when he was submitted by Dvalishvili’s longtime teammate Aljamain Sterling, getting choked unconscious in just 88 seconds.
Sandhagen is coming off a TKO win over former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in May that earned him this title shot. The 33-year-old from Colorado has eight career wins by KO/TKO, including a spinning wheel kick knockout of Moraes and a flying knee knockout of Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar in the UFC.
Dvalishvili will be looking for his third consecutive title defence in the 135-pound division. The 34-year-old Georgian initially won the title by defeating O’Malley 11 months ago before defending the belt against Umar Nurmagomedov in January and beating O’Malley a second time almost three months ago.
UFC 320 is set to take place Oct. 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen is scheduled to serve as the co-main event, with a 205-pound championship rematch between Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira headlining the event.
