Former UFC fighter Liana Jojua gave her assessment of UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili’s performance against Cory Sandhagen in an exclusive interview with Telecomasia.net.
“I wouldn’t call it a cakewalk because all five rounds were intense, as usual. For example, the rematch with Sean O’Malley ended pretty quickly. That what I’d call a cakewalk. Dvalishvili once again handled a strong opponent excellently, showing superb cardio. He didn’t wrestle in the first round but then started mixing wrestling with boxing.
“He showed great striking. As a fighter, Merab is developing strongly in all areas. We all know about his cardio and physical strength, but we can also see his technical improvement. It’s very enjoyable to watch,” Jojua said.
At this point, Merab Dvalishvili has cleared the division, and I don’t see any opponents for him anywhere in the world. He’s beaten some fighters twice or is about to do it twice. New opponents will appear in the future, but right now there’s no one who can stand up to him. He’s gone through them all. No one can keep up with his pace. Until such an opponent shows up, he’ll keep having rematches: Umar Nurmagomedov, Petr Yan, Sean O’Malley.
On October 5 at UFC 320, Dvalishvili won a unanimous decision over Sandhagen. This marked the Georgian fighter’s third title defense in the bantamweight division since January 2025. Dvalishvili’s record stands at 21 wins and 4 losses. Cory Sandhagen has won 18 of 24 professional fights.
