Merab Dvalishvili notched one other bantamweight title protection at UFC 320, handily defeating Cory Sandhagen by way of unanimous choice.
Sandhagen got here out, touchdown some strong strikes within the early going. That prompted Dvalishvili to go to his grappling roughly midway by the primary, however Sandhagen did a superb job of heading off the takedown makes an attempt. Sandhagen appeared to land the extra vital pictures within the first, probably incomes himself a 10-9 on the scorecards.
Two minutes into the second, Dvalishvili let his fingers go, connecting with a mix that had Sandhagen reeling. With ‘Sandman’ on wobbly legs, the champ turned up the warmth, touchdown at will and desperately on the lookout for an early knockout.
Someway, Sandhagen weathered the storm, however Dvalishvili’s relentless grappling saved him from getting off any offense of his personal in the course of the spherical.
Dvalishvili delivered one other dominant spherical within the third, however Sandhagen began to search out his vary within the fourth, connecting with a booming proper hand. Nonetheless, ‘The Machine’ seemingly took the spherical after almost cinching in a d’arce choke within the remaining minute.
Possible needing a end, Sandhagen began to swing away within the fifth, however the continuous grappling from Dvalishvili made it troublesome for the challenger to muster any offense. Ultimately, Davalishvili would land an unbelievable 20 takedowns, securing his third profitable bantamweight title protection.
Official End result: Merab Dvalishvili def. Cory Sandhagen by way of unanimous choice (49-45, 49-45, 49-46) to retain the UFC bantamweight championship.
