Merab Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, thinks Cory Sandhagen is the next man up for ‘The Machine.’
Dvalishvili notched his second successful defense of his bantamweight title at UFC 316, handily defeating Sean O’Malley for the second time. Immediately following the fight, Dvalishvili called for Cory Sandhagen to be his next opponent.
However, UFC CEO Dana White may have other plans, suggesting that a rematch between Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov could take precedence.
Speaking with James Lynch in a MiddleEasy exclusive interview, Wood believes that Sandhagen has more than earned his shot at the 135-pound crown. At the same time, Nurmagomedov likely needs to go out and get a win or two before he’s back in the conversation.
“All signs point to yet,” Wood said. “Merab is very accepting of that opponent. He respects Cory. He thinks Cory has done what he needs to do. It’s a new opponent. It’s a fresh face. I don’t see why it wouldn’t. I don’t think there’s anybody else. Dana mentioned Umar [Nurmagomedov], but Umar has never been a champion. He needs to go out and win a fight or two before we accept that, and I think the ball is now in Merab’s court to say, let’s hold off on that. Let him go get a couple of wins.
“Sandhagen makes the most sense right now.”
Another name on Wood and Dvalishvili’s short list is former bantamweight titleholder Petr Yan.
“We would love to fight Petr Yan,” Wood continued. “He’s a great fighter and well-deserving. If it were up to me, Sandhagen and Yan should fight for the number one contender spot, and the winner is our guy, but those are two fights—obviously the UFC is kind of running out of bantamweight to throw at us so I think those are two guys we could arguably fight back-to-back with no problem.”
John Wood Comments on Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley’s Potential Move Up to Featherweight
While some believe Dvalishvili has a little more work to do in the division, others are already suggesting that ‘The Machine’ is the bantamweight division’s undisputed GOAT.
That begs the question: could we see him move up 145 and conquer another weight class?
“Not as a permanent move. That’s not even a question or a talk that we’ve had,” Wood said when asked about Dvalishvili possibly moving up to featherweight. “Merab is not a giant guy. He’s built. He’s a solid guy, but some of those 145’ers are massive, so for me, I’d like to see him stay at bantamweight and secure his GOAT Hall of Fame legend status, or whatever you want to call it and just own that division for as long as humanly possible, but with the potential of superfights.”
Dvalishvili may not have any immediate plans to move up, but what about Sean O’Malley? After losing back-to-back title bouts, rumors are already circulating that ‘Sugar’ could venture up to featherweight for a fresh set of matchups.
“It really depends on what Sean’s goals are in fighting,” Wood added when asked about O’Malley moving up. “Being a former champ, it’s hard not to want to chase that again, but it is a little further out of reach right now. But here’s the thing: you and I both know that the UFC does not care about rankings. Sean is potentially one or two good knockouts from his name being thrown back in the mix. Now, do I think they’ll throw him back at Merab? I don’t think that would be a smart thing, but if he wants to fight himself back into that position again, that’s always possible when you have that kind of star power and that kind of draw.
“If Sean goes out and starches somebody, everybody will be like, ‘Oh my god, he’s back.’ They’re gonna be right back on the ‘Sugar’ train and rightfully so. You never know what’s going to happen, but at 145, there’s some gnarly dudes, and Sean’s a tall guy, but he ain’t got a big frame, so it would be tough to see that going well [for him] right now. But I think no matter what, he just needs to fight. Get back in there, win, and prove that he’s on that level.”
If O’Malley does stick around at bantamweight, a long-teased clash with former champ-champ Henry Cejudo appears to be the most intriguing and logical match to make.
“I think that’s a good fight for both of them,” Wood said of O’Malley vs. Cejudo. “I don’t know who takes that one. It’s a really good fight for Sean based on reach, length, and style. I’m sure Henry believes he can go out there and wrestle him based on what he’s seen Merab do.
“But I think that’s a very smart fight to make. It’s a win-win for the UFC.”
Check out the full exclusive interview below:
