After multiple callouts, diises and pressure on UFC matchmakers, Cory Sandhagen finally got his shot at the title as he gears up to battle Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight championship.
Sandhagen challenges Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 320 card. Sandhagen has wanted this matchup for quite some time. While many fighters in the division didn’t seem thrilled about the challenge, Sandhagen called for it multiple times.
“I always thought that I had a really quirky sense of humor, it’s really dry, too,” Sandhagen told MMA Fighting. “For whatever reason, I don’t make a lot of facial expressions, and so it’s really hard to pick up sometimes when I’m joking and when I’m not. I always was just like, ‘Dude, you’re too weird to try to be funny, so, like, just don’t try it.’
“But then I was like, f*ck it. People are either going to get it or they’re not going to get it, so I’m just going to do my own version of being funny and doing silly skits and stuff. And yeah, it seems like people like them. I know that they’re probably pretty weird for some people, but I think that they’re really funny and I guess that’s kind of what matters.”
Dvalishvili has won 13 straight fights, including his title win at UFC 306 over Sean O’Malley in September 2024, along with two successful title defenses in 2025.
Despite talks about Sandhagen’s skill set in comparison to Dvalishvili, Sandhagen remains positive and says he will meet the champ on his own grounds and submit him.
“I want to bring awe to the fans when they watch,” Sandhagen said on UFC 320 Countdown. “I can knock Merab out, I can submit Merab. I’m not going to get tired in five rounds, and my wrestling is 1000 times better than these other guys he’s fought. Right now, I feel unbeatable. At UFC 320, I win this fight.”
Sandhagen believes he has what it takes to challenge the champ, and he says he has improved significantly during his training camp.
“In this camp, particularly, I’ve really dedicated myself to learning all of the aspects deeply. Not just being a striker with fancy jiu-jitsu, but actually getting super good with wrestling,” Sandhagen said. “I can step into the cage with absolutely anyone, and I have all of the tools to beat anyone in the entire world.”
His confidence promises an interesting fight despite comments from trolls who doubt Sandhagen.
“I’m kind of just leaning into that just because I know the narrative around this,” Sandhagen explained. “I mean, Merab’s beaten guys that I haven’t beaten. Like he beat Umar and he beat Yan, and so I’m assuming that Merab is likely gonna be the favorite in this fight. I’m pretty sure that he is and, yeah. I’m kind of just leaning into that.
“I honestly don’t read most comments. Every once in a while, I’ll slip up and f*ck up and accidentally do it. But for the most part, I don’t. So I don’t really know what people are saying, but I’m assuming that that’s what it is. But even if that isn’t the case, it’s just funny to think about like that being the guy on the other side of the screen, and that’s who it is because if you’re saying mean stuff on the internet, you’re a giant loser, and that’s probably what you actually look like anyways.”
Regardless of how fans feel about the challenger’s chances against Dvalishvili, Sandhagen appreciates the passion of most of the MMA fan base.
“I actually really appreciate them,” Sandhagen said. “I think that fandom is weird. I’ve never been a fan of too many things. I don’t think celebrities are cool, I don’t think that I’m above anyone or below anyone in life, so fandom’s always been really weird to me. But as many horrible, weird, mean people that there are on the internet, there are equally just as passionate and dedicated fans for me, too, on the internet. And without kind of like the balance of both of them, I don’t think that you get one without the other.
“So, I mean, all the love that I feel like I received from the fans that are very passionate about me, the other losers that are mean are probably just the other end of the spectrum, and that’s the way that it tilts sometimes.”
Sandhagen is coming off a submission win over Deiveson Figueiredo to earn the title shot.
