Cory Sandhagen paid close attention to the rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley at UFC 316, as he had anticipated facing the winner in a title fight later in the year.
Dvalishvili once again defeated O’Malley, but this time his victory was even more convincing. He dominated the first two rounds before securing a fight-ending choke in the third. This was undoubtedly a difficult loss for O’Malley, who had become a major star and one of the UFC`s most compelling draws. However, after two losses to the current champion, he finds himself in a difficult position regarding the bantamweight title picture.
Before the fight, O’Malley revealed he had made significant lifestyle changes to better prepare for the Dvalishvili rematch. Despite this, the outcome was the same, and Sandhagen expressed empathy for him.
“I kind of feel for Sean,” Sandhagen told MMA Fighting. “Sean’s one of those guys that kind of thinks about life in terms of a journey and all of that stuff and I can relate to that big time. So I know the feeling of changing a lot of stuff about your life in hopes that it will translate over into fighting and then also hope that you’ll get a good result from it. It sucks that life doesn’t always work like that. So I kind of feel for him a little bit.”
Regarding the fight itself, Sandhagen admitted that O’Malley clearly didn’t perform at his best. Aside from successfully defending several of Dvalishvili’s takedown attempts, O’Malley didn`t generate much offense.
Trouble struck in the third round when O’Malley was caught in a grappling exchange on the ground, allowing Dvalishvili to lock in the choke that finished the fight. Dvalishvili’s dominant performance impressed Sandhagen and served as further motivation for him to defeat Merab when they eventually meet in the octagon.
“The fight itself, Sean looked a little bit off, even more off than the last time,” Sandhagen observed. “I don’t really know what that’s about. I mean Merab looked super on. I think Merab’s building some really good momentum.
“I think that he’s getting more confident in each fight and I’m really excited to face that challenge. I think that I’m the guy to beat him. I just can’t wait to actually be a world champion finally.”
Currently, Sandhagen is solely focused on securing a date and location for his fight against Dvalishvili, aiming to finally achieve his dream of competing for a UFC title. However, Sandhagen is aware of the significant interest in a potential future fight between himself and O’Malley, given their exciting styles and how they might match up.
Should Sandhagen defeat Dvalishvili to become champion, it could potentially revitalize O’Malley’s title hopes by creating a path back into contention. But does O’Malley possess the ability to learn from his past mistakes and climb back up the rankings?
“I think he does,” Sandhagen stated confidently. “O’Malley kind of gets labeled as a star first before he gets labeled as a good fighter. I think O’Malley’s a really, really good fighter. He’s a super athletic guy, also, so when you’re that athletic, you’re capable of making a lot of changes in your game and stuff.”
“If you don’t pick things up very quickly, it can be hard to change. But Sean definitely has that ability, just him being a really good athlete so I think he definitely can.”
While O’Malley publicly discussed quitting marijuana, social media, and video games to focus on the Dvalishvili rematch, Sandhagen believes the necessary improvements lie more in his technical training and preparation.
At his best, O’Malley was a precise striker with devastating knockout power, but his two bouts against Dvalishvili exposed vulnerabilities in his overall game. Sandhagen anticipates O’Malley addressing these weaknesses, suggesting they might face each other one day in the future with a championship on the line.
“I think he just has to change a few things, not like in his personal life but in his technical fighting style of stuff and then just be able to grapple with these guys that are really good grapplers,” Sandhagen explained.
“He got away for a long time just being able to one-shot, knock people out. Now he’s facing some for real well-rounded, really good fighters and you just can’t be a one-trick pony anymore.”
A future match against O’Malley remains a possibility, but Sandhagen’s immediate focus is entirely on the title fight with Dvalishvili. He hasn’t received an official offer from the UFC yet, but after speaking with Dvalishvili backstage following his recent win, Sandhagen feels confident their clash will happen soon.
“I know Merab was saying sometime in November or December,” Sandhagen mentioned. “That works for me, too. These things take a little bit of time or whatever but I’m pretty confident. I feel good about it and I’m super excited to finally get my title shot.”
