Henry Cejudo thinks Merab Dvalishvili could be the bantamweight GOAT—if he gets past his next title challenger.
Dvalishvili recorded his second defense of his championship belt and his 13th straight win overall with an emphatic submission win over rival Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 316 this past Saturday. Heading into the bout, Dvalishvili had already put together an all-time great résumé and an argument could be made he has now definitively established himself as the best to ever compete in the 135-pound division, passing names like Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw.
On his Pound 4 Pound podcast, Cejudo argued that at the very least, Dvalishvili might be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter right now.
“If he’s more active than all these other fighters, it’s not fair for you to not say he’s pound-for-pound [No. 1],” Cejudo said. “I’m going to give you an example. Kamaru Usman. Kamaru Usman, at one point, fighting everybody, lapping everybody, and doing it on several occasions and he was pound-for-pound [No. 1]. What is the difference between Merab Dvalishvili if he’s able to lap people and beat people a couple of times in there?”
However, Cejudo also warned that as great as Dvalishvlii has been, he could lose his title in his next defense.
Following his win, Dvalishvili declared his next opponent should be Cory Sandhagen, who was in attendance at UFC 316. Though Sandhagen has suffered a handful of losses to other contenders, he is a fresh opponent for Dvalishvili and holds several notable wins. Sandhagen’s most recent outing in May saw him defeat two-time UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
That’s the test Cejudo needs to see him pass.
“If he beats Cory Sandhagen in this fight, yes,” Cejudo said. “I’m going to put him at pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world. One hundred percent.”
“But that being said, check this out, as much as I complimented Merab, I don’t think he beats Cory Sandhagen. … The only reason why I feel the person I could give that’s the most problematic for a guy like Merab Dvalishvili, it is Cory Sandhagen because Cory Sandhagen brings a lot more thump than a guy like Sean O’Malley and he is a submission threat a lot more than O’Malley, and he’s big,” Cejudo later added. “The other thing, too, Cory Sandhagen can get up to his feet. He’s shown that against a guy like Umar Nurmagomedov. He throws knees up the middle, the one that he caught Frankie Edgar with, the dude is freaking dangerous all around.
“And I do believe or I have a feeling that the person to potentially get the job done with a guy like Merab—and again, I’ve got to compliment Merab, you have to, he’s the bantamweight GOAT—but if there’s a guy in that division right now with all the tools and the fact that he can get up and he’s young and he’s younger than him, it is Cory Sandhagen.”
Should Dvalishvili make it three title defenses and 14 straight wins with an impressive performance against Sandhagen, his legend will continue to grow. In Cejudo’s eyes, Dvalishvili’s accomplishments already compare favorably with pound-for-pound greats Jon Jones and Islam Makhachev.
“Jon Jones hasn’t gone through everybody in the heavyweight division,” Cejudo said. “Islam Makhachev hasn’t gone through everybody in the lightweight division. This dude is about to go through everybody and there’s no denying. … If Merab is able to get that thing done, he not only deserves pound-for-pound, but he’s the Fighter of the Year for 2025.”
