5 Burning Questions for UFC 320
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With Alex Pereira’s star power shining bright and Merab Dvalishvili grinding toward history, the UFC landscape feels more uncertain than ever heading into UFC 320. Divisions once dominated by clear champions are now filled with rematches, rising contenders, and questions of legacy.
At 38, Pereira faces a career-defining moment against Magomed Ankalaev, while bantamweight supremacy hangs in the balance as Cory Sandhagen looks to derail “The Machine.”
In this series, we tackle five burning questions shaping UFC 320 and beyond. From Pereira’s future and Merab’s GOAT candidacy to Sandhagen’s upset chances and the card’s overlooked matchups, we break down the stakes and storylines you need to know:
#1. At 38, what would back-to-back losses to Magomed Ankalaev mean for Alex Pereira’s career trajectory?
Lee: This is a somewhat easy answer and maybe even a look into the future. If Alex Pereira was to lose to Ankalaev again a move to heavyweight is the most logical thing to do. He has already beaten most of the top light heavyweights and there are no more big fights for him in the division.
The UFC would most likely book him one fight at heavyweight before scheduling a massive fight between “Poatan” and Tom Aspinall. The fight would be a worthy main event for the White House card next year. His move to heavyweight could possibly end the Jon Jones headache for the UFC, unless Pereira or Aspinall were to call him out after securing the biggest win of their career.
Evan: So while I like where Lee’s head is at with the idea of Pereira moving to heavyweight, especially given how weak that division is currently, I’m not sure I’m fully on board myself. Poatan has definitely cleaned out a majority of the light heavyweight contenders, outside of Ankalaev, but I think a potential move to heavyweight could be disastrous for him.
Stylistically, Aspinall is a horrendous matchup for the Brazilian star. Additionally, his chin has already shown signs of deterioration at 185 and 205. I’m not sure he’s got the durability to consistently take punches from heavyweights. If he were to suffer consecutive losses to Ankalaev, I just feel it would simply mean that his career is closer to the end than his fans probably want to admit.
I’d rather see Poatan engage in big, fan friendly matchups if he loses to the Dagestani champion again. Instead of watching him pursue a third title run at heavyweight.
#2. What does this Ankalaev-Pereira immediate rematch say about the current state of the light heavyweight division?
Lee: Pereira has already beaten most of the top light heavyweights, and the UFC still sees him as a big draw. His dominance as champion makes the immediate rematch unsurprising. While the division isn’t empty, contenders have fought each other with mixed results. Jamahal Hill hasn’t looked the same since injury, while Johnny Walker is on a resurgence. Carlos Ulberg, Jiri Prochazka, and Aleksandar Rakic are worthy challengers, with Jan Blachowicz and Khalil Rountree Jr. as unpredictable wildcards.
Evan: I actually couldn’t disagree more with Lee here. There’s definitely some truth in that the promotion made this immediate rematch because of Poatan’s drawing power. It also doesn’t hurt that the first fight between him and Ankalaev ended with a somewhat controversial decision. However, the UFC’s light heavyweight division definitely lacks depth. That’s not even debatable.
At the moment, outside of Carlos Ulberg, it’s nothing but retread title contenders and flawed action fighters. Long gone are the days when 205 was one of the most stacked divisions in the sport.
As someone who was around when Alexander Gustafsson, Anthony Johnson, Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, Daniel Cormier, Forrest Griffin, Jon Jones, Lil Nog, Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson, Randy Couture, Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belford, and Wanderlei Silva were all competing, the current state of light heavyweight pales in comparison to that era.
#3. If Merab Dvalishvili beats Cory Sandhagen for a third title defense, where does he rank in the bantamweight GOAT debate?
Lee: It’s too early to call Merab Dvalishvili a bantamweight GOAT. He’s a great champion with elite skills and a 13-fight win streak. Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw remain ahead, and teammate Aljamain Sterling may still top him. Merab has faced tougher, more well-rounded competition, including four former champions: Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, Jose Aldo, and Sean O’Malley. The gap between Cruz and ‘The Machine’ is closing. A win over Sandhagen could challenge Sterling’s spot, but he’s not there yet.
Evan: We’re once again not on the same page. I don’t buy that the gap between Dvalishvili and Cruz, Dillashaw, or Sterling is as wide as Lee is suggesting. Aljamain holds the current record for most consecutive UFC bantamweight title defenses with three. Merab would not only tie that record with a victory over Cory Sandhagen, but he’d extend his win streak to 14 which would be the third longest active run in the promotion’s history.
Even if you wanted to include Dominick’s WEC title defenses for argument sake, where he reeled off five consecutive himself. Merab would only be two defenses away from that as well, and has a superior strength of schedule than his three aforementioned bantamweight champion counterparts. He’s faced a bigger depth of quality opponents than they did.
So he’s without question in the GOAT debate in my opinion if he defeats Sandhagen. The premature part though for me is discounting how tough of a challenge Cory will be for him to overcome.
#4. Is Cory Sandhagen Merab’s toughest test yet, and what are his chances to end the reign in Las Vegas?
Lee: Cory Sandhagen has a chance to be his toughest challenge to date in this fight. But, he has to be able to hang with Merab’s cardio and pressure, which is easier said than done. Also I’m old enough to remember how he was dominated by Sterling. That being said, Merab might be better than Sterling.
Sandhagen would need to establish his jab, keep the fight at distance and maybe even threaten the champion with takedowns of his own. Sandhagen has improved his ground game and is one of the most technical fighters in the game today. He will need to use every tool in his toolbox to pull off the upset.
Evan: I don’t really believe you can play the MMA math game here with this matchup. Just because Sterling beat Sandhagen five years ago, doesn’t necessarily equate to this being an easy win for Dvalishvili. I also feel it’s a bit disingenuous to insinuate that this current version of Cory is in any way similar to the one that fought Aljamain.
I think Cory’s skills, fight IQ, and assertiveness have leveled up pretty dramatically since then. He seems to understand that he can’t approach this bout looking to just out slick, out work, or out point Merab. Sandhagen realizes he has to dictate the terms of the fight and ultimately finish the Georgian machine to pull off the upset.
The work he’s done too with grappling ace Ryan Hall to utilize more leg entanglements and the 50-50 position in scrambles, could pay dividends for him in stopping Dvalishvili’s takedowns. Between that newfound mentality and evolution of his game, I feel Cory’s got as good of chance as anyone will ever have to dethrone Merab.
#5. What other matchups or fights on the card are you most excited for and deserve more attention?
Lee: I am excited to see which Patchy Mix shows up in his second fight in the UFC. This has to be a humbling experience for him as he will be fighting in the early prelims. The former Bellator bantamweight champion looked far from that guy in a loss in his UFC debut against Mario Bautista at UFC 316.
Mix has the confidence and the skills to take himself to the top of the bantamweight division. He needs to demonstrate his championship credentials with a strong performance against Jakob Wikiacz. Maybe ring rust contributed to his lackluster debut. In this fight, he needs to apply pressure which should lend to him displaying his top notch grappling skills while silencing the doubters.
Evan: This card overall is honestly pretty stacked and the quality it possesses is sort of getting slept on. You’ve got a plethora of fun action fights across the board. From Jiri Prochazka-Khalil Rountree, Joe Pyfer-Abus Magomedov, Edmen Shahbazyan-Andre Muniz, Farid Basharat-Chris Gutierrez, Daniel Santos-Joo Sang Yoo, Macy Chiasson-Yana Santos, and Ramiz Brahimaj-Austin Vanderford, there’s plenty here for fight fans to chew on.
There’s so many fun scraps that it’s hard to pinpoint which one deserves more attention. With that being said, I’ll go with Josh Emmett-Youssef Zalal. This feels like a pivotal, crossroads contendership matchup for both. Emmett is 1-3 in his last four fights, and now at 40 is becoming somewhat of the gatekeeper of the featherweight division. Zalal meanwhile is surging currently, riding a nine-fight winning streak, and is looking to fully break into that crowded top 10 at 145.
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