UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has praised Cory Sandhagen for making life difficult for him in the wrestling department at UFC 320.
On Saturday night, Merab Dvalishvili defeated Cory Sandhagen to successfully retain the UFC bantamweight championship. It was a fairly competitive fight for long spells and Cory did well in defending against the wrestling of Merab, but in the end, it was a fairly comprehensive result in terms of the numbers.
For Merab Dvalishvili, this served as yet another feather in his cap as he attempts to cement his legacy as the greatest bantamweight of all time. Even straight after the fight, he made it known that he's eager to get back in there and compete before the end of the year.
In the post-fight press conference, Merab had some interesting comments regarding the difference between the striking exchanges and the wrestling exchanges with Sandhagen.
Merab Dvalishvili discusses Cory Sandhagen fight
"I was impressed actually about how he was defending my takedowns and to get up. He was doing great job. Also, he was pushing my hand that way. He was making tire my hands. He was well prepared while training and I think striking is more easier than wrestling with him because he was making my wrestling way harder than striking. Striking, I had much success with him."
It's unlikely we'll see a rematch between these two anytime soon but at the very least, Sandhagen can take pride in knowing that he put forward an admirable performance in Las Vegas.