Merab Dvalishvili Exclusive UFC 320 Interview
We spoke to UFC Bantamweight Champion and Stake Ambassador, Merab Dvalishvili, as he prepares for his main event bout against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320.
Merab will headline the event alongside fellow stake ambassador Alex Pereira, live from Las Vegas, on Saturday 4th October.
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UFC 320 is a massive card – what can fans expect from your fight on the night?
It’s a bantamweight title fight. We always deliver. Cory Sandhagen is very talented, high-level fighter. He has a dangerous game. He knocks people out with a flying knee, spinning back kick. He has a great submission game, like he showed against Bautista. Cory Sandhagen is a great fighter and I’m only expecting a great fight against him. I’m not overlooking him – it's going to be a great fight, and MMA fans will have lots of fun because our fight will be lots of scrambling, lots of exchange punches, and great fight to see.
And how has your preparation been for the fight?
My preparation is like always. I train hard - sparring, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, I work out hard. I do everything for preparation in this fight – I'm not doing anything unusual in comparison to before. But preparation is going well.
Your machine choke finish caused quite a reaction amongst fans. Do you have the hunger to replicate that finish?
I have many more tools in my game. Whatever it takes to win this fight, I’m ready. I’m not expecting the fight against Cory Sandhagen to be easy anywhere. Of course, I’m looking for a finish, but I’m also ready for a five-round war with him. But I have other submissions as well – whatever it takes to win the fight I’m ready to do it.
You have already defended your title twice this year. You said you may want to fight again in December – what motivates you to stay so active and keep going?
First of all, I love fighting. Second, I want to do it the most because I am enjoying this process – I'm young, I’m hungry, I’m getting better, and I want to be busy. Right now, we have a clear contender in Petr Yan – he looked good in the last three fights, and he deserves a title shot. He is ready to fight me, and I want to take a quick turnaround, and I want to be busy, give people what they want, which is a good fight.
Does the prospect of being considered the greatest bantamweight of all time – does it excite you or does it put added pressure on your fights?
I love fighting. It’s up to other people to call me the greatest or not. Faster, good cardio – whatever you guys want to call me. I love fighting, I want to keep fighting and I want to keep winning. I’m not thinking about being the greatest or the best – I'm a fucking warrior, I’m a fuckin fighter and I want to fight. I have no pressure. I want to win every fight, and I want to beat every opponent standing in front of me because I know they want to beat me and take my belt. It’s just healthy competition – we are fighting to show the world who is the best fighter at the time, on the night, in this moment. And I’m proving it. I’m just focusing on every single fight. I have no pressure like this to be the greatest. I’m not the greatest – there are many great fighters in the UFC and in my weight class. I’m just a regular fighter who’s hungry, who wants to keep getting better and who wants to keep fighting.
The main event with Alex Pereira, and the rematch with Magomed Ankalaev. Who do you think will win that bout?
We all know Alex is a great fighter and was a great champion. But Ankalaev, we must not forget how good he is, now that he is the champion. 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 – let's see. If Ankalaev will try to do wrestling, let’s see how Alex Pereira will defend. Many things will make little changes for this fight, but in the end I’m excited. I don’t know the prediction, but it will be an interesting fight.
Your teammate Khalil is facing off in the same event, another big fight in the division. How do you see that fight playing out? Any predictions there?
Yes, for that fight I will have a prediction. I believe Khalil can win this fight because Khalil is working very smart. He is a good training partner, and he’s putting work in – he's training smart and hard. He hits like a truck; he hits very strong. He is a good guy and fighter. Jiri is also a good fighter, but I believe Khalil Rountree will win this time.
Looking again at your fight, and your opponent. Cory has some of the most explosive and direct striking in the UFC. Do you see this match as different to the bouts against Sean O’Malley, or is it similar in matchup due to their dependence on striking?
No, it’s nothing similar. I fought Sean O’Malley two times, and both fights were totally different. Cory Sandhagen is a different opponent with a different game. Cory is a dangerous opponent. He has great cardio, good takedown defence – he can take you down and put pressure on you. Even if he takes you down, he can put you in a leg lock. He damaged two guys legs - Figueiredo and TJ Dillashaw. He does a flying knee, which knocked out Frankie Edgar. I can go on and on man. Different fight, nothing similar. Every single fight, every single sparring session is totally different. One punch, one move, one mistake, one takedown, can change a whole fight game, and that’s what I’m ready for. Wherever the fight will go, I’m ready for the fight. Wherever it takes me, I’m ready to win this battle.
Everybody is a good striker. If you look at my last thirteen opponents, every opponent was better than me on paper. That’s why I’m special – I figure it out all the time. 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. I have the same goal with Cory Sandhagen as well. But like I said, he’s a good fighter and I’m not expecting an easy fight from him. It’s going to be a tough fight and I’m ready for the challenge, the scrap and all the exchanges. The back and forth.
Of course, you’ve set out how good a fighter he is. But are there any holes in his game that previous opponents haven’t been able to get past, that you’re planning for?
I don’t see any holes in his game. But 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. He doesn’t have any holes, but I want to be a better fighter that day and I will try to do my best to prove it again.
Aljamain Sterling finished Cory back in 2020. Have you spoken to him, has he helped in terms of preparations for the fight?
My friend Aljamain Sterling and I – we are professional fighters, and we know every fight is different. He did finish Cory, and it was very fast. Took him down in the first round and he got the finish, that was good. But we all see after that how good Cory Sandhagen looked – he dominated Chito Vera, he broke Figueredo's knee, and he knocked out Frankie Edgar. He fought Petr Yan for the title, and he was winning the first two rounds! He lost the next three rounds. Yes, Sterling got a submission like nobody else was able to, but I know how good Aljo is. We always train with each other, but I’m not looking for the same type of submission. I’m ready for everything.
Do you think Cory deserves this title shot against you?
Of course, absolutely. He deserves to fight me.
If you do get past Cory, who would you like to most face next?
Petr Yan. He looked good the last three fights, and he is the most deserving opponent for me. He has been a great champion before, and he has looked good. He deserves this title fight. Especially as I want a quick turnaround, it’s going to be a good fight for everyone. It has benefits for him, and it’s good for the UFC. I’m busy and I love fighting.
You’ve faced a lot of different fighters in terms of their fighting styles – heavy wrestlers and heavy strikers. In terms of style, is there anyone out there who you think can test you?
I’m fighting in the UFC and this is the best league in the world. Everybody can give me problems. There are so many good fighters – every fight is important for me. I’m just fighting everybody. If I go heavyweight, maybe they’ll give me problems. But in my weightclass, I’m good. I’m going against Cory, against Petr to see who will give me problems. After this, if Bautista wins, maybe he can give me problems. After this, we’ll see about the next contender. That’s why I’m fighting for the UFC, that’s why you guys must watch October 4th. Don’t miss, don’t blink.
Do you have anything you are preparing for this fight that is different?
I’m just trying to do my best. I’m trying to focus. It’s a little bit different. The more popular I’m getting, more friends, more people trying to call me, more distractions. It’s getting a little bit harder to focus, and to train hard. But everything else, I am the same fighter, and I am even more hungry. The only thing that is different is that everybody keeps trying to bother me and it’s hard to focus. But otherwise, nothing different – I'm training the same way I was before.
How would you explain your personality outside of the octagon? Is it different to the world that knows you?
Outside of the octagon I’m just a regular guy. I like to hang out with my friends; I like to chill. Lately, I’m just looking for any time where I can chill, but it’s impossible. I’m always going going going, because I train two times a day, wake up, go to the gym, train for two hours, take a shower, go eat lunch and then come back, sending some texts and emails and then another training session which makes me tired again. Going home again, sending texts, phone calls, get some sleep and the next day is the same hard work – training. Octagon is different - I’m fighting, and that’s where you guys see me. But I'm training every day.
You are part of a new generation of Georgian champions. How important is that to you, and what do you tell the next young generation of Georgians who are looking up to you and are ready to compete?
I am always saying that MMA needs time. You cannot rush in MMA. Sometimes, some young fighters can get lots of opportunities, and some young fighters can be in the UFC. But most of the time, it takes time to get into the UFC. And even in the UFC it takes time to get into the top 15. I always tell young fighters, no rush. Take your time. Try to get better everywhere, especially in the jiu jitsu, grappling area, because grappling and jiu jitsu are very important. Wrestling too, you know. They want to be fighters, they have to love this, and they have to be ready to be in the sport for 10-20 years. Success is not coming in one day here in MMA, it takes years to come. And even now I’m a champion, I still have lots to prove and I’m still moving forward and getting better, and I have so many challenges. I just want to continue like this. You have to have the same mentality – you have to get better, work hard every day and you have to have new goals after every fight. If you relax, and you say, “I’m the best”, “I’m UFC fighter now” or something, you’re going to get humbled. So, you have to always continue to get better, everywhere.
Is there a moment in your career that taught you the most, that was the change that you needed? It’s been a long time since you last lost a fight. Was that a big moment for you, to focus you?
Of course. Every loss is hard, especially in MMA. If you lose badly, all you can do is blame yourself, learn from it. And that’s what I did. I had some controversial losses, UFC or outside the UFC. But I blame myself, I took my time, and I tried to get better. Now I am here.
What’s one thing about being an MMA fighter, and a champion that you think the fanbase may not understand about you? Is there anything that might make them see you differently?
In social media it looks fun. I’m travelling, having good times, and doing interviews. But behind the scenes, I’m working hard. I live a disciplined life. I workout, go to training and get very tired. I can’t show my lifestyle, this training and work. But I love my lifestyle, I love all of this. To be an MMA fighter you have to love this, and you have to work hard, and you have to be willing to get better and that’s what only special can be – high level MMA fighters. It takes a lot. We cut weight – not everything is fun, but you have to love this game, and you have to love whatever you do. And that’s it.
