Cory Sandhagen outlines honest reason why he wants Merab Dvalishvili to beat Sean O'Malley at UFC 316

UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen recently outlined why he wants Merab Dvalishvili to win over Sean O'Malley at UFC 316. 'Suga' and 'The Machine' are scheduled to lock horns at UFC 316 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 7.

At a UFC fan Q&A session, Sandhagen claimed he wanted Dvalishvili to secure the victory and believes O'Malley might avoid a potential championship fight against him. He said:

"In all honesty, I want Merab to win because I think that Merab will actually take a fight against me. I’ve kind of been watching the interviews in the way that Sean’s been answering a lot of the questions this week and I don’t know if he’ll be super stoked to fight me in the championship fight. I got Merab winning, I hope he wins. Because, I know Merab is a real game guy and I know that he'll show up and fight me."

Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments below:

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Israel Adesanya previews Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley rematch

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya shared his perspective on Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley at UFC 316. While many predict 'The Machine' to win, Adesanya predicts 'Suga' to secure the victory via knockout in the second round.

On his YouTube channel, 'The Last Stylebender' analyzed their previous fight at UFC Noche. Although he praised Dvalishvili's skillset, he believes in O'Malley's chances this time around. He said:

"Merab is gonna come ready, fully equipped, and he’s got the confidence because he knows he’s beat him before, and he’s 'The Machine.' But I just feel like Sean is dialed in, and Sean can catch him. Merab gets hit, and Sean can catch him. Official pick - I’m gonna go Sean O’Malley, and it’s gonna be the return to the Sugar Show. Knockout. Round two."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below (14:21):

About the author

Sunil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in visual communication. He started his professional career in 2023 and has previously worked with FirstSportz and Levitate Studios, among other organizations.

Sunil was drawn to MMA by Conor McGregor, especially the Irishman’s crossover boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. His favorite fighter is Jorge Masvidal for his wild and unorthodox approach.

Surprisingly, ‘The Notorious’ and ‘Gamebred’ do not find a place in his Mt. Rushmore, which includes Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Alex Pereira, Daniel Cormier, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He feels ONE Championship’s Rodtang Jitmuangnon has the ability to succeed in the UFC due to his power.

Sunil is of the opinion that the UFC is not doing enough to prevent eye pokes and does not mind soccer kicks in MMA.

In his free time, he likes to watch anime and films in general. He’s also a boxing historian, having gotten into the sport watching videos of fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.

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Edited by Sunil Krishnan