“If O’Malley wins and I beat Figgy in a big way, I think the UFC will want to book me vs. him. I’m the only one in the top five who hasn’t fought Merab. That’s a strong argument…” Prior to his bout against Deiveson Figueiredo, Cory Sandhagen had already started making plans for his show in the bantamweight title picture. Of course, his plan heavily depended on his victory against ‘Figgy’ on May 4, 2025. But it’d also depend on the rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley at UFC 316. But can ‘Sandman’ really see himself fighting for the belt next?
MMA reporter Aaron Bronsteter had an interaction with Sandhagen via Sportsnet. Therein, Bronsteter asked the bantamweight contender about his callout for the O’Malley bout on multiple occasions. However, his tries were unsuccessful. After all, he believed that if fighters called their opponents out, there was a high possibility of that fight materializing.
Sandhagen replied, “I definitely see a scenario where I end up fighting for the belt after this one, you know, being that if O’Malley wins against Merab. The entire world wants to watch me and O’Malley fight.” According to the #4 bantamweight contender, ‘Sandman’ vs ‘Suga’ was a matchup that arguably excited the fighting community more than the rematch between Petr Yan and O’Malley, or Umar Nurmagomedov and ‘The Machine’. But what if Dvalishvili manages to defeat O’Malley once again? Sandhagen had a plan for that as well.
He continued, “And then Merab too, you know, like, I’m the only guy in the top 5 that hasn’t fought Merab and lost to him by, I mean, he’s beaten pretty much everyone. I mean, he has beaten everyone, I think pretty decisively. Some of them were definitely very competitive fights. But Merab was like decisively winning all of them, in my opinion. So, I certainly see a scenario where I could be fighting for the belt next. And that’ll be the shot that I’m gonna call for, for sure.” It’s true that ‘The Machine’ has won about 15 out of his 19 victories via decision. On the other hand, Sandhagen had 7 wins via decision, and 7 others via KO/TKO, out of 17 total MMA victories.
But do you know that Cory Sandhagen has already devised a strategy against the UFC bantamweight champion? Let’s take a look at the Kryptonite that seemingly shines in favor of the bantamweight star from Colorado.
Cory Sandhagen reveals his game plan against Merab Dvalishvili
Prior to the events of UFC 311, where Dvalishvili displayed extremely superior grappling skills that even surpassed the skills of ‘Young Eagle’, Sandhagen had a brief interaction with Luke Thomas. Therein, he revealed the one thing that could defeat someone like ‘The Machine’. He claimed, “The more that you move your feet, the more tired you’re gonna get, especially if that movement is backward. You have to stand your ground against Merab. Don’t run from him, and hit him when he comes in. Make your movement a lot smaller because it is all that footwork that tires people out.”
Before he fought Dvalishvili at UFC 311 and lost, Nurmagomedov battled Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi. Judging from his own experience against pressure-heavy grapplers, ‘Sandman’ said, “It’s not a matter of shape, it’s more style and resource usage.” And that’s exactly what the Georgian bantamweight champion did this January. He outclassed ‘Young Eagle’ and defeated him in his own forte. Now, the fighting realm has only one question – Will Sandhagen be able to snatch away Dvalishvili’s championship title soon?
But we can make an educated guesses about that only after we witness the fight between Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo, and the rematch between ‘Suga’ and ‘The Machine’. Until then, we’ll have to wait and watch the story unfold.
What do you think about a matchup between Sandhagen and Dvalishvili, or O’Malley? Do you think ‘Sandman’ can become the next bantamweight champion? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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