Cory Sandhagen is full of confidence ahead of Tilt’s title with Merab Dvalishvili.
After years of fighting in the bantamweight division, “Sandman” finally gets a shot with incontroversial gold when he challenged Dvalishvili to the 135 pound crown at the UFC 320 Co-Main event on Saturday night.
Sandhagen will enter the match as winners with three of the last four, including a second round of TKO over flyweight title holder debut Son Fijueild. That victory won the much-anticipated opportunity for Sandhagen, and we are confident he could deliver similar results against Dvalishvili in Las Vegas.
“I’m more dangerous now than ever,” Sandhagen said before the night of the fight. “So I definitely could see Merab finishing. It wouldn’t be easy because he’s a tough fighter. When he backs up, he’s really hard to back up.
Over 50% of Sandhagen’s victory within the Octagon came via KO, but they have to go all the way through 2021 to find a finish that doesn’t come through doctors’ suspensions or injuries.
Meanwhile, Dvalishvili has stepped away from an absolutely dominant performance against Sean O’Malley, submitting “Sugar” in the third round of his bantamweight championship rematch at UFC 316.