"That’s an outstanding fight" - Fans react to Merab Dvalishvili eyeing Cory Sandhagen fight after UFC 316

UFC bantamweight kingpin Merab Dvalishvili is set to make his second title defense next week at UFC 316 in a rematch against Sean O'Malley. Ahead of the bout, 'The Machine' has disclosed that he plans to stay active this year and fight two more times.

After beating 'Suga,' Dvalishvili wants to fight Cory Sandhagen. Fans have reacted to this news.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, the Georgian fighter discussed his potential plans after UFC 316 and said:

"I wanna be busy. Like I said in another interview, I will be happy if I would fight two more times this year. Looks like Cory Sandhagen is ready for me. We never fought each other, he is a great contender… He beat a lot of guys in our division, and I don't mind to take another quick turnaround fight and then fight one more end of this year, either in New York or here in my new home in Las Vegas."

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Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below:

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Fans reacted to Dvalishvili's remarks. A user wrote:

"That's an outstanding fight."

Another commented:

"I hope Merab comes back asap"

Check out a few more reactions below:

Fan comments. [Screenshots courtesy: @MMAJunkie on X]

Currently, Sandhagen is ranked No. 4 in the bantamweight division and boasts wins over Deiveson Figueiredo, Marlon Vera, and Song Yadong, among others. He previously fought Petr Yan for the interim strap at UFC 267 and lost via unanimous decision.

After the loss, Sandhagen secured a three-fight win streak, but his chances of fighting for the strap were dashed when he lost to Umar Nurmagomedov in 2024. However, most recently, he secured an impressive win over Figueiredo.

Cory Sandhagen refused to be backup for Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O'Malley 2

In a recent interview with Din Thomas and Alan Jouban, Cory Sandhagen revealed that he was offered the role of backup fighter for the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 bout. However, he rejected the opportunity as the promotion could not guarantee him a title shot next, which he desired.

Sandhagen said:

"When I talked to Hunter, they offered it to me and I was like, 'okay, so does that mean that I get the title shot next?' And he was like, 'no, we're still not going to decide on that until after the title fight happens'... He was like, 'but you could be the backup' and I was like the backup ain't that good of a deal unless you get guaranteed a title shot afterwards.''

Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments below:

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Subham is a dynamic writer and editor at Sportskeeda, with a background in Health and Fitness, MMA, True-Crime, and Pop Culture.
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Edited by Subham