Georgian athlete Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his UFC bantamweight (61 kg) championship belt. At the event held in Las Vegas, the Georgian fighter defeated American Cory Sandhagen.
The fight began evenly, but in the second round Dvalishvili became more active and came close to a knockout — Sandhagen mostly had to stay on the defensive. In the end, after five rounds, victory was awarded to the Georgian fighter by unanimous decision of the judges.
The 34-year-old Merab Dvalishvili equaled Aljamain Sterling’s record in the bantamweight division by defending his title three times. In addition, he became the first fighter in UFC history to complete 100 takedowns.
The Georgian athlete won the belt of the world’s most prestigious mixed martial arts organization in September 2024 after defeating Sean O’Malley. As champion, he went on to beat Umar Nurmagomedov in January of this year and again defeated O’Malley in June.
After 25 mixed martial arts bouts, Merab Dvalishvili now holds 21 victories. This win marked his 14th consecutive victory — the fourth-longest winning streak in UFC history.
