Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Cory Sandhagen Opening Betting Odds

On Saturday, Merab Dvalishvili easily defended his UFC bantamweight title with a third-round submission win over former UFC champion Sean O’Malley. Following his dismissal of O’Malley, the man Dvalishvili defeated to become the 135-pound champ, UFC CEO Dana White implied that Dvalishvili’s next test will come in the form of former interim UFC title challenger Cory Sandhagen.

No date or location has been set for the Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen matchup, but with the champ saying he wants to defend his crown two more times in 2025, the fight could come sooner rather than later.

Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Cory Sandhagen Opening Betting Odds

When BetOnline offered the opening betting lines for Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen, the defending champ was listed as a -260 betting favorite over the challenger, who opened at +220.

Those odds have shifted significantly since they were published in the hours after Dvalishvili’s victory over O’Malley at UFC 316. Today, Dvalishvili is a -400 favorite over Sandhagen, who is the +330 betting underdog.

Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Cory Sandhagen

Merab Dvalishvili (20-4), a long-time training partner of former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling stepped into the spotlight of the promotion’s 135-pound division in September 2014 when he scored a unanimous decision win over then-champion Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 306.

The 33-year-old Dvalishvili joined the UFC in 2017 as much-hyped prospect. At the time, Dvalishvili was 7-2 and had won and defended the Ring of Combat bantamweight crown.

Dvalishvili did not have a smooth start to his UFC run, losing his first two fights. Falling to Frankie Saenz by decision, and the second, to Ricky Simon, via submission. In September 2018, things clicked in place for the Serra-Longo Fight Team product, and he has not lost since.

Heading into UFC 306, Dvalishvili was on a 10-fight winning streak. Prior to his matchup against O’Malley, Dvalishvili had defeated Marlon Moraes, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. The win over O’Malley stretched his winning streak to 11 straight. Dvalishvili extended that streak to 12 when he defended his title with a unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.

Dvalishvili faced O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316. O’Malley had not fought since he lost his title to Dvalishvili at UFC 306. Despite making wholesale changes to his life and training heading into UFC 316, Dvalishvili easily dispatched O’Malley in their second meeting, ending the fight in the third round via submission.

Cory Sandhagen (18-5) joined the UFC in 2018 with a 7-1 record. He went unbeaten in his first five fights with the promotion. That run, culminating with decision wins over John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao, earned the then 28-year-old the No. 4 ranking in the UFC’s 135 weight class and a matchup against the No. 2 ranked Aljamain Sterling.

The slick Sterling submitted Sandhagen in the first round, earning himself a shot at the UFC bantamweight title, a belt he won in his next outing. As for Sandhagen, the submission setback did not hurt him in the rankings, as he remained at No. 4.

Following his first UFC loss, the UFC booked Sandhagen against the No. 1 ranked Marlon Moraes. Sandhagen won that fight and a “Performance of the Night” bonus with a highlight-reel spinning wheel kick KO.

That stunning stoppage earned Sandhagen the No. 2 ranking in the division and a fight against former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Sandhagen dispatched Edgar with a vicious flying knee 28 seconds into that bout. He again earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his effort.

A decision loss to former UFC bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw followed Sandhagen’s win over Edgar. He then faced ex-135-pound champ Petr Yan for the interim UFC bantamweight belt in October 2021. The scrap was “Fight of the Night” on the UFC 267 pay-per-view card, but Yan picked up the victory and the belt via unanimous decision.

Following that setback, Sandhagen, who is now 33, was on a three-fight winning streak with victories over Song Yadong, Marlon “Chito” Vera, and Rob Font. Sandhagen saw that run come to a halt in August 2024 when he dropped a decision to Umar Nurmagomedov in a bantamweight title eliminator.

In May, Sandhagen rebounded from his loss to Nurmagomedov with a TKO win over former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.

Sandhagen is the No. 4 fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings.

We will have more on the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen UFC bantamweight title fight as news breaks.