Big things are ahead of Merab Dvalishvili as he prepares to defend his UFC bantamweight title. The Machine has recently become an ambassador for an online gambling brand, Stake and he talked to them about life in preparation for the big match. UFC 320 is just behind the corner, and the bout against Cory Sandhagen is one Merab is expecting to win.
So far, the Georgian fighter has managed to take on any obstacle UFC and Dana White put in front of him, and is even planning on fighting once more before the year ends. Let’s see what Dvalishvili had to say about the upcoming event, his future plans, current state of mind and body, and what he’s been up to in the meantime since his last title defence.
UFC 320 Expectations
As a defending champion, Merab Dvalishvili is fully focused on the upcoming event. He understands that the stakes are high in a title bout but has no doubt that both he and Cory are going to deliver. When talking about his adversary, Merab only had words of praise, stating: ” Cory Sandhagen is a very talented, high level fighter. He has a dangerous game.” Of course, part of the preparation for the upcoming bout is studying your opponent, and the reigning bantamweight champ knows all about Sandhagen’s flying knees, spinning back kicks, and submission techniques. The Georgian champion promises a great fight, and is sure that all MMA fans are going to enjoy the show he and Cory are going to put on. If you’re interested in their bout and the rest of the card, and also plan to put a few quids on the fights, please check out these UFC 320 betting odds.
Match Preparations by Merab
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Dvalishvili sees himself as a traditional fighter, and as such keeps the match preparations basic. The Machine is aware of what traits have brought him to the top, so he keeps his head down, and rains hard: ” I train hard: sparring, wrestling, jiu jitsu, I work out hard.” Merab is insistent that this bout merits no unique preparation, or a change in his routine. He does the same things that have helped him in the past, believing that core exercise and repetitions are what will keep him in game shape and eventually lead to the win.
While Merab remains adamant that he hasn’t done any unique match preparations, the social media outlets are saying otherwise. If you’ve been following Merab on Instagram and X, you have noticed that his Stake Chicken campaign has kicked off. Chicken is a Stake Originals crash game, and the latest in house release. As the brand ambassador for Stake, The Machine has been tasked to promote the game. We can see that the Georgian fighter is already a fan of the game, as the promotional video is one of a kind, and a type of content MMA fans haven’t been expecting from Merab.
In the video, Merab is presented with a live chicken. His goal was to catch the chicken that had been running around while the bantamweight champ was running after it, throwing himself on the feathery beast. Eventually, when catching it, Merab was holding the chicken, and the Stake ambassador recently stated “Don’t forget to play the Chicken, out now, only on Stake.” The promotional video was also advertised as a part of the old school match preparation, similar to Rocky, with the message being if you can catch a chicken, you can catch anything.
Going Back in Time With The Machine Choke
One of the moves that bought Merab plenty of fans was his machine choke that he used to take down Sean O’Malley at UFC 316. The modified submission was praised by fans, and many MMA viewers became Dvalishvili fans after UFC 316. Now, the question arises whether Merab will try to use the same move against Sandhagen. Merab stated that his only goal is to win, regardless of the way of the win, adding: ” I have many more tools in my game.” With The Machine nothing is left down to coincidences, so he remains confident in his preparations being both ready to take down Cory early on, but also for the bout to last five rounds. When asked about his submission techniques, Merab said: ” Whatever it takes to win the fight I’m ready to do it.”
Third Title Defence & One More Fight This Year for Merab
Unlike some of the other UFC champions, Merab is not too picky about his opponents. During his title reign he was more than eager to give a chance to all title challengers. That’s why he already fought twice in 2025, has a bout scheduled for UFC 320 in October, and already has his eyes set on a December fight to wrap up the tear. When asked why he fights so much, Merab said: ” I love fighting. I want to do it the most because I am enjoying this process.” The Georgian fighter wants to take advantage of the years while he’s young, hungry, and gets better with every fight and every preparation. “I want to be busy” adds Merab. For future encounters, after he’s done with Cory Sandhagen, The Machine would like to take on Petr Yan who he sees as a worthy title challenger, who earned his feather in some of his last bouts. As a reigning bantamweight champion, Merab is aware that the fans of UFC want to see him fight and defend his title, and that’s what he’s prepared to do, giving the fans what they want along the way.
The Greatest Bantamweight of All Time Pressure
Merab Dvalishvili is often dubbed as the best bantamweight fighter in the history of UFC. For The Machine, the praise is well received, but he remains modest, letting people call him the bantamweight GOAT, adding: ” I’m not thinking about being the greatest or the best . I love fighting.” The belt and the GOAT comparisons put no pressure on Merab, as he loves what he does, and takes great pride in being an octagon warrior. He sees himself no better than many of his peers stating that the UFC is filled with great fighters and competitors. ” I’m just a regular fighter who’s hungry, who wants to keep getting better and who wants to keep fighting” concludes Dvalishvili.
The Opinion on Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev
UFC 320 is one of the biggest UFC events this year, and you can see that based on the main and co main event, where Merab defends his title against Sandhagen in a co main event, while the event is headlined by Pereira vs. Ankalaev 2. The entire list of bouts for UFC 320 and match odds you can see at Stake.com. While Merab is fully focused on his title defence, he cannot remain silent when it comes to the light heavyweight fight between Pereira and Ankalaev. For Merab both are great fights and champions. Many people praise Alex for his title reign and fighting spirit, but Merab won’t let people forget just how good Magomed is and that he is the defending champion. As far as match predictions go, Merab said: ” It’s going to be a great match, I don’t know who’s going to win actually. It’s going to be a very close fight.” What Dvalishvili knows is that Ankalaev is going to try to take the bout down to ground with his powerful wrestling, and that Alex’s chances of a win reside on his ability to counter Ankalaev wrestling. The Machine is excited for the bout, concluding with: ” I don’t know the prediction, but it will be an interesting fight.”
Merab Backs His Teammate Khalil at UFC 320
Unlike in the Alex vs. Magomed bout, Dvalishvili is not shy in predicting the outcome of his teammate’s match: ” I believe Khalil can win this fight because Khalil is working very smart.” Merab and Khalil have been training very well, together, and Dvalishvili has had a close look at how Khalil has prepared for the match. For Merab, Khalil took a smart approach to training and has trained hard. As far as his octagon ability goes, The Machine said: ” He hits like a truck; he hits very hard. He is a good guy and fighter.” While the Georgian fighter also had words of praise for Rountree’s opponent in Jiri Prochazka, he remains adamant that Rountree is going to be the one to take the win home.
Merab vs. Cory Sandhagen & Sean O’Malley Comparisons
Leading up to the UFC 320 co main event, and the fight for the UFC bantamweight title, many fans and pundits have been claiming that Merab hasn’t faced a fighter with as good striking ability as Cory Sandhagen’s is. Also, the parallels to Sean O’Malley fight have been drawn. For Merab, there are no similarities, as he said: ” It’s nothing similar. I fought Sean O’Malley two times, and both fights were totally different.”As for Cory, The Machine sees him as a totally different opponent. He’s dangerous, has great cardio, amazing takedown defence, and creates a lot of pressure on his opponents, knows Merab. For Dvalishvili the biggest takeaway from previous Sandhagen’s bouts is his ability to lock his opponents down, and putting them in leg locks, as he did to both Figueiredo and TJ Dillashaw. In addition to heavy preparation and work on himself, Merab has been studying the tape on Cory Sandhagen too, saying: ” One punch, one move, one mistake, one takedown, can change a whole fight game, and that’s what I’m ready for.” Despite being full of praise for Sandhagen, the only goal for Merab is to win this fight, and schedule another one for December.
The Machine vs. Cory’s Striking
Merab Dvalishvili has been so successful in UFC that nothing phases him anymore. As far as the powerful striking ability of Cory Sandhagen goes, Merab has had the following to say: ” Everybody is a good striker.” For Dvalishvili, UFC was one big fight against adversity, where he proved in his last 13 bouts that he is better than anyone who he was pitted against. Every opponent was taken head on and defeated, and for Merab that is what makes him special, figuring his opponents out. As far as strikers go, Merab said: ” Sean O’Malley was a better striker than me, Petr Yan was a better striker than me. Henry Cejudo, Jose Aldo, Marlon Moraes. Whoever you want to name, I beat them all.” As they say, MMA is a game of confidence, and Dvalishvili lacks none of it. He recognizes Sandhagen as a top fighter, expects a good fight, but relinquishes the challenge of taking home another win and another title defence.
Title Bout Today, Title Bout Tomorrow
Merab Dvalishvili is so confident in his ability, that he is already planning his next bout. While he remains respectful towards Cory Sandhagen he also claims: ” I’m a much better fighter than what I was a couple of months ago. I’m planning to go there, do my best, break him, and win this fight.” As far as Cory’s merit to be in the UFC bantamweight fight, Merab has no doubt that it is a well deserved honour: ” He deserves to fight me.” With less than two weeks to go until UFC 320, Dvalishivili has already set his mind on his next opponent. There’s no doubt in Merab’s mind that the next in line to take him on is Petr Yan. Talking about Yan, Merab said: ” He has been a great champion before, and he has looked good. He deserves this title fight.”
UFC 320 is almost upon us and Dana White and his company have set the stage for something big. With two title bouts on schedule as the main and co-main event, the MMA fans can’t wait to see Merab Dvalishvili, Alex Pereira, Cory Sandhagen, and Magomed Ankalaev in action.
