Latest news with #MerabDvalishvili
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Umar Nurmagomedov's coach excited to rematch a 'better' Merab Dvalishvili when time comes
ABU DHABI – Javier Mendez looks forward to game planning for an even more improved Merab Dvalishvili if Umar Nurmagomedov can rebound. Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) fell short in his title fight against bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) at UFC 311 in January. After he revealed he broke his hand early in a fight where he won the first two rounds on two of the three judges' scorecards. During Wednesday's UFC on ABC 9 media day, Petr Yan said Nurmagomedov turned down a fight for the UFC on ABC 8 headliner in Baku, Azerbaijan this past June. Mendez addressed that claim, and gave an update on Nurmagomedov, who's manager Ali Abdelaziz teased has fight news soon. "I was told about that potential matchup, we didn't care who Umar was going to fight," Mendez told MMA Junkie. "We just know we needed a tough guy for us to potentially be back in the picture, but his hand wasn't healed enough to be cleared to go that early. So, we're expecting Umar to be fighting very soon and before the end of the year. I'm preparing to go to camp at the end of this month with Usman (Nurmagomedov). "Usman is defending his title at Coca Cola Arena here against an opponent to be named. I don't know who it is, but I'm sure it's going to be somebody really good. ... Within that training camp, it'll be Umar and Islam (Makhachev), and all the other guys will be in there too. I'll be with all the boys starting August, I'll be in Dagestan in Khabib (Nurmagomedov)'s new gym up in the mountains." Mendez has been super impressed with the improvement shown by Dvalishvili, who notched his second title defense when he submitted Sean O'Malley at UFC 316. "It was a great fight, it was super, super close," Mendez said on Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov. "Unfortunately, things didn't end up going our way, and Merab did a fantastic job. Since then, Merab has gone on to do an unbelievable job. He's gotten better, and I love that. "I love that he's gotten better because if we get another opportunity, we got to get by whoever they give us next. But if we get another opportunity at Merab, I want a better Merab. I don't want an old Merab, I want a better Merab, and that's what we're getting. We're getting a better Merab. Last fight was so, so impressive. I'm looking forward to that challenge if we can get by our next opponent." Mendez broke down what he tactically thinks Nurmagomedov did wrong in his first-career defeat to Dvalishvili. "A big mistake was not telling Khabib and I that he broke his hand because we would have changed the game plan completely," Mendez said. "I keep going back thinking, and I go, God dammit, why didn't I ask him, 'Why did you go in for the takedown?' Because Merab was super strong. Why would you try to go for a takedown when that was not a good idea? "He wasn't in a weak position, but he went in to shoot for a takedown. It hit me. Why – and I still to this day haven't spoken to Umar – was it that when you broke your hand? I'm not sure. The hand broke, but it is what it is. Fighters break hands, they break toes, and they fight and they win." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Merab Dvalisvhili 2 would excite coach Javier Mendez
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC 320 title fight
Merab Dvalishvili is keeping his word of being an extremely active champion when he goes for his third defense of 2025 against Cory Sandhagen in the UFC 320 co-main event. Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen preview Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) will attempt to become just the eighth champion in company history to record three title defenses in a calendar year as he pursues a 14th consecutive octagon victory. After winning the belt from Sean O'Malley in September, "The Machine" has defeated Umar Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision in January and then tapped out O'Malley in a their June rematch. Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) has no intention of being fodder for Dvalishvili's historic year, however, and looks to make the most of a timely championship opportunity after solidifying a title shot with a injury TKO finish of Deiveson Figueiredo in May. He has won four of his past five overall, with the lone blemish coming against Nurmagomedov. Magomed Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen odds According to DraftKings, champion Dvalishvili is a heavy -380 favorite to retain his title against first-time challenger Sandhagen, who's a +300 underdog. How to watch Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas Broadcast/streaming: ESPN+ pay-per-view When: Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Petr Yan, UFC's forgotten man at 135, is quietly building back toward the title
On Tuesday night, UFC CEO Dana White served up a full party tray of new fight bookings, including a UFC 320 bantamweight title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen. It's the kind of fight that is both gratifying and remarkable. Sandhagen is finally getting his shot, and yet … didn't Merab just defend his title in June? Guess that's why they call him 'The Machine.' One interesting spectator come October will be Petr Yan, the forgotten man at 135 pounds. He has a fight of his own Saturday in Abu Dhabi against Marcus McGhee. It's an important one. As Merab goes about destroying everyone in his general vicinity, Yan has been quietly making his way back toward him. One slip up, and he'll fall entirely out of earshot of Merab's great rumbling. Or, if there's an upset in the cards this fall, of Sandhagen's soft-spoken philosophies. 'I believe after the win I should be the one fighting for the belt,' Yan told Uncrowned this week. 'I already beat Sandhagen before. For example, if he wins the fight with Merab, there's a rematch for him. And then if it's Merab who's holding the belt, then I believe this fight will be different, because last time I fought him I was just 50%, I was injured, my hand was injured and I couldn't even punch.' The old proverb goes that excuses have stayed in business for a long time. But in Yan's case, that's a particularly hard pill to swallow. Not only did he have the injury, but the optics were troubling. Merab took Yan down 11 times in the fight. He doubled him up in striking with preternatural pace and pressure. It was Yan's fourth recorded loss in five fights, which meant he had effectively fallen from the topflight ranks at bantamweight and was rapidly hurtling down to earth. If the split decision losses against Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley looked like heists in the eyes of the public, the Merab loss was thorough. It didn't leave a lot to the imagination, but a lot of holes to address. 'Losses are hard to take, but sometimes they also teach you stuff,' Yan says. 'They give you opportunity to work on your mistakes, to improve, to become better. And I believe I'm a better version of myself right now. And with the winner, I believe I deserve to fight for the belt.' The proof he's learned from his mistakes might be in the more recent results. Back at UFC 299, Yan took two out of three rounds against the hard-hitting Song Yadong to get back on track. Within that performance there were obvious flashes of the Yan who blasted his way through the likes of Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber in his championship heyday. Yan followed that up with a super-impressive thrashing of Deiveson Figueiredo this past November in China, a victory that wasn't nearly as subtle. He swept the scorecards over the course of five rounds. That one felt like a declaration that Yan, whose nickname of 'No Mercy' matched his Mugsy-like demeanor, was back. Still, he enters Saturday's fight on virtual tiptoe, which might have more to do with the relatively unsung McGhee than Yan. McGhee has won all four of his UFC fights since debuting in 2023 and finds himself in a spot to catapult himself toward the top of the division in one fell swoop. Yan knows he is being viewed — at least from the McGhee camp — as the stepping stone. 'At some point, all of us are unknown,' he says. 'At some point, I got the chance and now I'm giving the chance to Marcus. But he's a good guy, a good opponent. He deserves to be in this position.' Here the 32-year-old Yan turns back into the cold specimen that distinguished him from 2016-2020, when he won 10 fights in a row, including all seven to that point in the UFC. 'He is a good fighter, an orthodox fighter, fast, explosive, he tries to do a lot of different stuff," Yan says. "But skill-wise, I think I'm on a different level, and this Saturday night I think I'm going to show you for the real martial artists. And I'm going to show him there's levels to this and make sure he's going to regret accepting this fight.' If he does regain his entire mojo and emerges as the top option for the winner of Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen, Yan's story will become one of perseverance. Those were some rough losses he suffered. When he lost the title with an illegal knee against Sterling in 2021, it turned Sterling into a persona non grata for taking the title in that way. When he lost the split decision rematch 13 months later, after beating Sandhagen in his rebound fight, it was insult to injury. Then came O'Malley, which made him believe the universe was against him (or at least the three cageside judges) and question why he was bothering. Then Merab, which turned a former champion into a forgotten man altogether. Siberia is considered one of the most isolated places on earth. Yan would know. He was born there, and — though he now calls Sverdlovsk Oblast home — the newest wrinkle he has to his game is the understanding of banishment. He got sent to the figurative Siberia during that losing skid, and the man who sent him there is at large. Merab's defending his title for a third time this year in October. He's the tyranny of the division. And if Yan intends to do anything about it, there's one obstacle left to get through: Marcus McGhee. 'I'm mentally and technically at my peak right now,' Yan says. 'I'm just going to create some bumps and fireworks.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Merab Dvalishvili to defend title vs. Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320
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. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 320: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen set for October
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bryce Mitchell adamant only he can beat Merab Dvalishvili: 'I'm going to shake things up'
ABU DHABI – Bryce Mitchell plans on breathing new life into the UFC bantamweight division. Mitchell (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on Said Nurmagomedov (18-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in his return to 135 pounds on July 26 at UFC on ABC 9 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Mitchell, who's trained with UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) in the past, thinks the division has hit a stagnant point and is confident that he can make some noise with his arrival. "I think it needs to be spiced up a little bit," Mitchell told MMA Junkie of the bantamweight division. "It just needs somebody like me in there to shake things up, and I can almost promise you I'm going to shake things up. ... They need something exciting right now because let's be honest: Nobody's going to beat Merab. Who's going to beat Merab? You're going to have to call somebody that can beat him because right now literally nobody can beat Merab. So they're going to realize that they need a guy like me. Here I am. Call me!" Could it be expected title challenger Cory Sandhagen? Mitchell was quick to dismiss the No. 1 contender's chances. "Thug Nasty" believes that with his size and grappling credentials, he's the only one who can truly push Dvalishvili. "Cory's going to lose, and that's what's going to happen," Mitchell said. "And you can watch the fight just to watch Cory get beat, but he's not going to win. Nobody's going to beat Merab unless they call somebody who knows how to. I love Merab, Merab's actually a great friend of mine, and I can promise you he's going to beat Cory. It's boring! Nobody wants to watch him win and not fight. Everybody wants to see a fight, and I'm telling you, I'm bringing a fight to this division. "It's going to shake things up. It's actually going to get people interested in this division again because once again, nobody wants to watch Merab win easily. ... I've got the only resume that can even possibly compete with him. All these other fights, I mean I guess it'll be a little bit entertaining because you get to see how Merab wins, but it's not going to be a fight. Cory Sandhagen's going to be fighting for air." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC's Bryce Mitchell adamant only he can beat Merab Dvalishvili
