Cory Sandhagen is aware of that a whole lot of followers are counting him out of his title struggle towards Merab Dvalishvili, so he’s having a little bit of enjoyable with it.
Sandhagen challenges Dvalishvili for the bantamweight championship within the co-main occasion of Saturday’s UFC 320 card at T-Cell Area in Las Vegas. To go together with the narrative of Dvalishvili being a heavy favourite, and being an unstoppable champion, Sandhagen has performed some web skits with an web fan — performed by Sandhagen — explaining the entire causes the narrative suggests he’ll lose to Dvalishvili.
An instance of the character may be seen under.
“I all the time thought that I had a very quirky humorousness, it’s actually dry, too,” Sandhagen advised MMA Combating. “For no matter cause, I don’t make a whole lot of facial expressions, and so it’s actually onerous to select up typically once I’m joking and once I’m not, I all the time was identical to, ‘Dude, you’re too bizarre to attempt to be humorous, so, like, simply don’t strive it.
“However then I used to be like, f*ck it. Individuals are both going to get it or they’re not going to get it, so I’m simply going to do my very own model of being humorous and doing foolish skits and stuff. And yeah, it looks as if folks like them. I do know that they’re in all probability fairly bizarre for some folks, however I believe that they’re actually humorous and I assume that’s form of what issues.”
Dvalishvili has gained 13 straight fights, together with his title win at UFC 306 over Sean O’Malley in September 2024, together with two profitable title defenses already in 2025. A part of Dvalishvili’s spectacular résumé contains wins over Petr Yan and Umar Nurmagomedov, who coincidentally are the final two fighters to defeat Sandhagen.
Regardless of taking part in the troll character, Sandhagen says it’s extra enjoyable for himself versus clapping again at MMA followers who hit him up on social media with negativity.
“I’m form of simply leaning into that simply because I do know the narrative round this,” Sandhaden defined. “I imply, Merab’s crushed guys that I haven’t crushed. Like he beat Umar and he beat Yan, and so I’m assuming that Merab is probably going gonna be the favourite on this struggle. I’m fairly positive that he’s and, yeah. I’m form of simply leaning into that.
“I actually don’t learn most feedback. Each every now and then, I’ll slip up and f*ck up and by accident do it. However for essentially the most half, I don’t. So I don’t actually know what persons are saying, however I’m assuming that that’s what it’s. However even when that isn’t the case, it’s simply humorous to consider like that being the man on the opposite aspect of the display screen, and that’s who it’s as a result of in the event you’re saying imply stuff on the web, you’re a large loser, and that’s in all probability what you truly seem like in any case.”
Sandhagen has wished this matchup with Dvalishvili for fairly a while. Whereas a whole lot of the fighters within the division didn’t appear thrilled for that problem, Sandhagen known as for it a number of instances.
Regardless of how followers really feel concerning the challenger’s probabilities within the bout towards Dvalishvili, Sandhagen appreciates the fervour of many of the MMA fan base.
“I truly actually respect them,” Sandhagen mentioned. “I believe that fandom is bizarre. I’ve by no means been a fan of too many issues. I don’t suppose celebrities are cool, I don’t suppose that I’m above anybody or under anybody in life, so fandom’s all the time been actually bizarre to me. However as many horrible, bizarre, imply those that there are on the web, there are equally simply as passionate and devoted followers for me, too, on the web. And with out form of just like the steadiness of the each of them, I don’t suppose that you simply get one with out the opposite.
“So, I imply, all of the love that I really feel like I acquired from the followers which can be very obsessed with me, the opposite losers which can be imply are in all probability simply the opposite finish of the spectrum, and that’s the way in which that it tilts typically.”
