Henry Cejudo sees Cory Sandhagen as the one to dethrone UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili.

Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) notched his second title defense when he submitted Sean O’Malley in Saturday’s UFC 316 main event. He has already been touted by the likes of Jon Anik as the greatest bantamweight of all time.

Cejudo thinks Dvalishvili can reach that territory if he can get past Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC), who is expected to be next in line.

“If he beats Cory Sandhagen in this fight, yes, I’m going to put him at pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world,” Cejudo said of Dvalishvili on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “One hundred percent.”

However, Cejudo isn’t sure if Dvalishvili is capable of beating Sandhagen, who’s coming off a stoppage win over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC on ESPN 67 last month.

“But that being said, check this out: As much as I complimented Merab, I don’t think he beats Cory Sandhagen,” Cejudo said. “I’ve been really good with my picks in the bantamweight division. The only reason why I feel the person that 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. 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.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Henry Cejudo: Cory Sandhagen beats UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili

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