Sean O’Malley reacts to Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen, makes prediction for UFC 320

Sean O’Malley may be out of the title race for the time being after losing to current champion Merab Dvalishvili twice in a row but he’s never far from the conversation.

With Dvalishvili defending his title against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 on Oct. 4, O’Malley understandably has a vested interest in whoever comes out the winner. On paper, Sandhagen winning would clear the way for O’Malley to potentially get another shot at winning UFC gold. However, he didn’t himself into that debate when offering his honest breakdown about the upcoming fight.

“I fought Merab twice, beat him once, lost to him once. Just kidding,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “Wrestling versus striker. Cory’s got really good wrestling scrambles. He did really good against Umar [Nurmagomedov]. He kept his hips high, he was able to scramble very well. I wouldn’t say he really gassed but he definitely got a little bit tired whereas Merab, he just doesn’t get tired. He really just doesn’t and he’s freakishly strong.

“I’m curious to see how those scrambles go. Cory’s well versed in the 50-50 [position] and the leg game so I’m curious if he will cause scrambles that way. Maybe threaten some submissions that way to where Merab gets uncomfortable and maybe shoots less. I am curious to see how that plays out.”

O’Malley understands this matchup well not only because he’s spent two fights in the octagon going against Dvalishvili. He also sees himself as having a similar body type and style compared to Sandhagen.

After he struggled to keep Dvalishvili off him with numerous takedowns before eventually getting choked out in their rematch, O’Malley knows just how well the reigning bantamweight champion can adapt his style when facing a taller, longer striker. That’s a challenge Sandhagen has to overcome if he has any hope of dethroning Dvalishvili.

“As a striker, Cory and I have similar styles in a sense in hard to take down, good timing and I thought watching Merab on the screen, not having him in front of you, you think he looks like of sloppy, he looks like you’re going to be able to stuff his shots or not even be there when he shoots but that little Georgian finds a way,” O’Malley said.

“It’s hard for my wrap my head [around], who do I think’s going to win? I think it’s a f*cking coin flip. If I had to guess, if Merab goes out there and grabs a hold of him, I think Cory’s going to be surprised how strong that little Georgian feels. But also I could be completely wrong. Cory could go out there and hit some beautiful scrambles and make Merab look silly.”

Unfortunately for O’Malley, he had a similar opinion about how he matched up with Dvalishvili and he was proven wrong two different times. That doesn’t mean O’Malley is just giving up on potentially solving that puzzle one day down the road.

“I truly believed I was going to go out there and make Merab look stupid,” O’Malley said. “I’m so delusional that I still believe I can do that.

“Max Holloway beat Dustin [Poirier] in their third fight. Lost the first two. So never say never.”

That said, O’Malley certainly won’t count out Sandhagen, especially given that he considers the upcoming title challenger a more talented martial artist than the champion. Dvalishvili may not have the flashiest résumé when it comes to his performances or highlight-reel victories, but he always finds a way to get the job done.

“When it comes down to overall who’s the more skilled fighter, top to bottom, I think Cory is,” O’Malley said. “But sometimes that doesn’t matter when you have a guy like Merab who will shoot and change levels and throw stuff. It looks sloppy. When I was watching film on him, you look at it and it looks sloppy. You’re like OK, I can catch him here, catch him here. He surprised me twice. I wasn’t able to crack him, wasn’t able to catch him. I do think he’ll surprise Cory a little bit but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Cory surprises Merab on his wrestling defense and his scramble ability and just fight IQ in general.

“As of right now, Merab Dvalishvili is the No. 1 bantamweight of all time. It’s exciting for him to stay active like he wanted to.”