Dvalishvili’s Twenty Takedowns Shut Down Sandhagen’s Title

Merab Dvalishvili retained the UFC bantamweight championship against Cory Sandhagen on October 4, 2025, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC 320 co-main event ended with unanimous scores of 49–45, 49–45 and 49–46 after five rounds.

Sandhagen’s range created early opportunities

Sandhagen used his jab and reach to make the champion work for his entries. When Dvalishvili eventually completed an opening-round takedown, the challenger quickly returned to his feet and resumed finding space for his striking.

Those early exchanges showed the importance of distance. Sandhagen could land cleanly when he kept Dvalishvili outside, but maintaining that separation became increasingly difficult against repeated wrestling attacks.

The second round changed the fight

Dvalishvili hurt Sandhagen with punches in the second and pursued a finish before returning to his takedowns. The challenger survived, repeatedly standing only to face another attempt to bring him down.

The champion sustained that pressure through the remaining rounds. Even when Sandhagen landed, Dvalishvili responded with body locks, leg catches and renewed entries that prevented extended periods of offense.

The judges rewarded a sustained championship performance

Dvalishvili completed twenty takedowns, a record for a UFC championship bout. Sandhagen continued trying to attack through the final round, but could not produce the finish needed to overturn the champion’s advantage.

The verdict gave Dvalishvili his third successful title defense of 2025. His performance combined a damaging second-round striking surge with the relentless wrestling workload that defined the rest of the contest.

Sources

• Cageside Press: exchanges, title-defense count and takedown record
• Nevada commission: official championship result and scores

Tags

UFC, MMA