Merab Dvalishvili Eyes Quick Turnaround, Title Defense vs. Sandhagen After UFC 316

👀⚡️Merab Dvalishvili wants to fight Cory Sandhagen next in New York:

"Looks like a Cory Sandhagen is ready for me… He’s a great contender. He beat a lot of guy in our division.

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I don’t mind to take another quick turnaround and fight one more time this year in either New York… pic.twitter.com/5umWQpWCM1

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) June 3, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili is already eyeing his next target going into his UFC 316 title defense. 

Dvalishvili puts his bantamweight title on the line in a rematch against Sean O'Malley at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, this weekend. “The Machine” recently said that he would like to fight Cory Sandhagen next if he beats O’Malley at UFC 316. 

Dvalishvili considers “The Sandman” a legitimate contender who has paid his dues coming up the rankings. The Georgian champ would prefer a quick turnaround and would like take on Sandhagen when the UFC returns to New York sometime in the fall.

“I will be happy [if] I will fight two more times this year,” Dvalishvili told Manouk Akopyan. “Looks like Cory Sandhagen is ready for me and we never fought each other. He is a great contender, he fought everybody, he has a good style. He is a good fighter we all know. He beat lot of guys in our division. I don’t mind to take another quick turnaround and fight one more time this year in either New York or Las Vegas.”

Dvalishvili has already defended his title against Umar Nurmagomedov earlier this year. Meanwhile, “Suga” hasn’t fought since losing his title to Dvalishvili in September 2024.

Sandhagen is 4-1 in his last five and comes off a win over Deiveson Figueiredo that saw him rebound from a loss against Nurmagomedov. Many considered Sandhagen deserving of a title shot before O’Malley got a chance to reclaim his belt.