"Merab didn't get 20 takedowns" - Daniel Cormier delivers reality check on Merab Dvalishvili’s takedown stats at UFC 320

Daniel Cormier recently shared his thoughts on the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen fight. Cormier dismissed the way MMA takedowns are scored and claimed that Dvalishvili never got 20 takedowns against Sandhagen.

Dvalishvili beat Sandhagen via unanimous decision at UFC 320 earlier this month and successfully defended the bantamweight title for the third time. 'The Machine' put on a dominant grappling performance over five rounds and reportedly got 20 takedowns against the American fighter.

In a recent episode of the Good Guy / Bad Guy show with Chael Sonnen, Cormier dismissed the notion that Dvalishvili got 20 takedowns and outlined his problem with how MMA takedowns are scored:

"What Merab did to Cory multiple times was mat returns. He mat returned him... When Cory got up, he would pick him up and he would put him back down to the mat, and because Cory stood on his feet and got taken back down to the ground with control, it's counted as a takedown. I have long had a problem with how they score mixed martial arts takedowns. The MMA takedown is a problem, the way they score takedowns is the problem."

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He continued:

"A takedown should be when you go to the mat. A takedown should not be when you get back up, and a guy picks you up and just puts you back down... Merab didn't get 20 takedowns. Merab probably got five or six takedowns, and he got 14 mat returns." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Watch the full episode below:

Cory Sandhagen reacts to Merab Dvalishvili fighting Petr Yan in December

Cory Sandhagen recently reacted to Merab Dvalishvili fighting Petr Yan in an exciting bantamweight title rematch at UFC 323 in December. This would mark Dvalishvili's fourth title defense in a calendar year, a UFC record.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani (via @arielhelwani on X), Sandhagen reacted to Dvalishvili fighting just weeks after their fight at UFC 320 and said:

"He's an animal for that. All the respect in the world for that because he doesn't have to do that, but he wants to. That dude is a unique individual. Good for him for fighting again that soon because I would never do that."

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