Cory Sandhagen explains why Sean O’Malley fight will be a “tough one” for Merab Dvalishvili

Cory Sandhagen believes Merab Dvalishvili will have his hands full against Sean O’Malley.

Dvalishvili is set to take on O’Malley in the main event of Noche UFC at The Sphere in September for the bantamweight title. It’s an intriguing matchup, and the opening odds have Dvalishvili as the betting favorite. However, Sandhagen thinks the matchup is not a good one for Dvalishvili as he believes O’Malley’s striking will pose a lot of problems for the Georgian.

“They are going to have a hell of a fight. I think that it’s going to be a tough one for both of them, specifically Merab. Every fight starts standing and I think Merab doesn’t clear the gap as good as some of the other guys, O’Malley is really good at keeping space and making it difficult for people to get close to him,” Cory Sandhagen said on The Anik & Florian podcast.

“Just having that amount of a height advantage against his mover’s style and his athletic attributes I think it will be a tough one for Merab. But, I’m really curious to see what happens, I guess anything can happen, it’s really hard for me to imagine any scenario where Merab is going to win that dominantly,” Sandhagen added.

It’s an interesting take from Cory Sandhagen who seemingly thinks Sean O’Malley will defeat Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC in September. If he does, it would be a statement win for ‘Suga’ as many believe Dvalishvili’s wrestling will be too much for O’Malley.

As for Cory Sandhagen, he’s set to return on Saturday in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi against Umar Nurmagomedov. It’s a highly-anticipated and the winner could very well face the winner of O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title next time out. Sandhagen is coming off a decision win over Rob Font last August to extend his win streak to three.