Merab Dvalishvili shares surprising goal for Cory Sandhagen fight at UFC 320

Merab Dvalishvili has a preferred method of victory for his UFC 320 fight against Cory Sandhagen.

Dvalishvili and Sandhagen are scheduled to collide in the co-main event of UFC 320. The event will be headlined by a light heavyweight title rematch between champion Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. The action will be held inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

During an interview with MMAJunkie.com, presented by Stake, Dvalishvili admitted that he’d prefer if his striking leads him to victory on Oct. 4.

“I’m looking for the knockout because I’m working on my striking, you know,” Dvalishvili said. “This fight is mostly going to go on the feet, and of course I’m going to exchange some punches with him, and that’s the goal. But, at the same time, it’s an MMA fight. We have to be ready for everything, and I won’t be surprised.”

Dvalishvili isn’t expecting a cake walk when he shares the Octagon with Sandhagen. In fact, he views the No. 1 contender for his bantamweight title as a credible threat.

“I know a lot of people think I got this fight easy, but definitely no because it’s a new fight for me,” Dvalishvili said. “Cory Sandhagen is a dangerous opponent. I have so much respect for him as a fighter, as a human being. Every time I watched the knockout of when he finished Frankie Edgar, it’s crazy for me. He had finish against Bautista where he looked good and looked like next contender in our division.”

After “The Machine” submitted Sean O’Malley in their rematch back in June, he called for a showdown with Sandhagen and the two had a staredown inside the Octagon. Sandhagen has gone 4-1 in his last five outings. His latest win was against former UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo via TKO due to injury. Sandhagen looked dominant throughout the fight and he firmly believes his technique caused the fight-ending injury.