Sean O’Malley thinks Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen is a lot closer than most people think.
The next UFC bantamweight title fight is ‘Sugar’-free as champion Merab Dvalishvili defends his belt against top contender Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event of UFC 320 on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas.
Dvalishvili dethroned then champion Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 last September and has since defended the belt twice this year against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 and O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316 in June.
Sandhagen emerged a title contender at UFC Des Moines when he TKO’ed former two-time flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in two rounds.
On a 13-fight win streak, Dvalishvili looks to be a sizable favorite against Sandhagen, who lost to Nurmagomedov last August.
O’Malley has given his two cents on the recently announced title fight.
Sean O’Malley leans towards Merab Dvalishvili over Cory Sandhagen in UFC 320 prediction
Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen is more than your average striker vs. grappler matchup as Sandhagen is very well-rounded, showing in his fight against Rob Font that he can wrestle for five rounds.
Of course, Dvalishvili is the best grappler in the division, also equipped with the best cardio, which makes him such a tough matchup.
“How do I see that fight playing out?” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel.
“I fought Merab twice, beat him once, lost to him once… I’m just kidding.
“Cory’s got really good wrestling scrambles. He did really good against Umar. He kept his hips high. He was able to scramble very well. I wouldn’t say he really gassed, but he definitely got a little bit tired whereas Merab just he just doesn’t get tired.
“If Cory’s well versed in the 50-50 [position], the leg game—I’m curious if he will cause scrambles that way, maybe threaten some submissions that way to where Merab gets uncomfortable and maybe shoots less.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head,” O’Malley said of who will win between Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen.
“I think it’s a f—— coin flip. I think, if I had to guess, I feel like Merab,” said O’Malley.
“If Merab goes out there and grabs a hold of him, I think Cory’s going to be surprised how strong that little Georgian feels.
“But also, I could be completely wrong. Cory could go out there and hit some beautiful scrambles and make Merab look silly,” O’Malley added.
Cody Garbrandt eyes pay-per-view fight with Sean O’Malley
Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt still wants a piece of ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley.
The former champs have been going at it for a while now, nearly colliding at the UFC 269 press conference in 2021.
Even after losses to Deiveson Figueiredo and Raoni Barcelos, the unranked Garbrandt believes he’s still within reach of fighting the #1 contender O’Malley.
“I would love to f— him up,” Garbrandt told MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck.
“He just always talks s—. I think he has an infatuation with me. He’s so jealous of me and I can’t believe he became a world champion.
“He can’t wrestle for a lick, can’t defend a takedown. I mean, Merab straight bullied him. But he’s been calling me out forever, so I’ve been ready to fight that dude.
“If that’s the next fight they want to do, I think that’s going to be a great pay-per-view fight, good drawing,” Garbrandt added.
Garbrandt is 3-7 in his last 10 fights since dethroning Dominick Cruz to become the UFC Bantamweight Champion in 2016.
