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Merab Dvalishvili to defend title vs. Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320

Merab Dvalishvili to defend title vs. Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320

USA Today4 days ago
It didn't take long for UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili to get another title defense on the schedule.
Dvalishvili is set to make his third title defense against top contender Cory Sandhagen in the UFC 320 co-main event Oct. 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The news was announced Tuesday by UFC CEO Dana White on Instagram Live.
Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC), one of the busiest champions today, fights for a third time in 2025 – all three bouts being title fights. The Georgian fighter made his first title defense in January, outpointing Umar Nurmagomedov, and his second in June, submitting Sean O'Malley in a rematch. Dvalishvili looks to tie the record of most consecutive title defenses at 135 pounds.
Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) fights in his first undisputed UFC title fight. He competed for the interim belt years prior, losing to Petr Yan. Sandhagen is 4-1 in his past five outings. In his most recent performance, Sandhagen stopped Deiveson Figueiredo in May.
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