Merab Dvalishvili keeps rolling along, successfully defending the UFC bantamweight championship with his 14th consecutive victory in a manhandling of Cory Sandhagen on Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 320 in Las Vegas.
Dvalishvili (21-4), defending his belt for the third time, took full control in Round 2, dropping Sandhagen with a flurry of punches and landing eight takedowns on 13 attempts. Dvalishvili landed 33 significant strikes in the round to just two by Sandhagen.
From that point on, Sandhagen was mostly on the defensive. While he did not wear down like some past Dvalishvili opponents have, Sandhagen never seriously threatened the champion. The judges scored the fight 49-45, 49-45 and 49-46.
Dvalishvili said he was surprised he was unable to finish the fight in that dominant second round.
"Remember, I said my plan is to knock him out. Almost, almost," he said. "Now I think people will respect my striking too."
The most highly respected part of Dvalishvili's game, though, is his wrestling. Over five rounds, he was relentless with his wrestling pressure, attempting 37 takedowns and landing 20, a UFC record for a title fight and the second most in any bout inside the Octagon. It was the fifth fight in which Dvalishvili has landed 10 or more takedowns, and he extended his own UFC record for total takedowns, which now sits at 117.
Dvalishvili's winning streak is the fourth longest in UFC history. He hasn't lost a fight since April 2018 and sits atop the ESPN men's bantamweight rankings while also being No. 3 pound-for-pound.
Sandhagen (18-6), a 33-year-old from Aurora, Colorado, who is ESPN's No. 5 135-pounder, was looking to become the only male American champion. When heavyweight Jon Jones retired in June and vacated his title, it was the first time since 2004 that no American man held a title.
