At UFC 316, Merab Dvalishvili cemented his claim as the greatest bantamweight in the modern era to set foot in the Octagon, after submitting Sean O’Malley in under three rounds with a rare north-south choke. But the night nearly took a disastrous turn before the first punch was even thrown. Chaos erupted at the Prudential Center when a railing collapsed near the walkout area just when ‘The Machine’ was walking out to the Octagon, almost sidelining the main event. In a recent revelation, Dvalishvili’s coach detailed the heart-stopping moment.

So, what happened? Well, a guardrail near the stands collapsed as Dvalishvili was walking out to the Octagon. The incident caught the fighter and his team off guard because it all happened so fast. For a mere second, the MMA community was worried, thinking Dvalishvili was caught in the collapse. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and the fight went on to happen as usual.

But it was quite a harrowing incident that scared the heck out of Team Dvalishvili. While having a conversation on Submission Radio, Merab Dvalishvili’s Coach, John Wood, said, “We almost got crushed. I was s–tting my pants after like, Merab got pushed out of the way as the thing was falling over, and it fell right in front of us—like almost landed on our feet.” 

He further added, “It was like five fans broke the barricade and fell over, and I was looking for people being crushed under the damn thing. It was nuts, man. Like, that was a holy s— moment for sure. That was freaky, and by the grace of God, I don’t think anybody was hurt. So that was—uh—that was an interesting one. That’s a first.”

No one was injured, but this incident raises serious concerns about the promotion’s contingencies in such situations. A similar incident happened previously at UFC 289. On June 10, 2023, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, a railing collapsed as Canadian fighter Mike Malott made his walkout to the cage. It happened due to the fact that fans were leaning on the railing to greet Malott before the fight.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident. Just like no one was injured right before the UFC 316 main event. But it definitely was certainly an event to remember for ‘The Machine’ though. So, what’s next for him? Who’s next in line, that could pose a challenge for the Georgian bantamweight champion? If you watched the fights on Saturday, you might have a pretty good idea who that is. Let’s hear from Team Merab.

Team Merab Dvalishvili already has their weapon ready for Cory Sandhagen

Cory Sandhagen was originally planning to face Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311, but his defeat against Umar Nurmagomedov derailed his plans. However, his recent victory over former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo has thrust him back into the title picture. Interestingly, Sandhagen is one of the only top five contenders, along with Song Yadong, who have yet to face ‘The Machine’.

So, it is nearly certain that Dvalishvili may face another striker in the coming months. And is Team Merab worried about it? Certainly not as when his coach was asked about the potential clash with ‘The Sandman,’ Wood stated that while Sandhagen is tricky, he doesn’t have enough weapons that could match up against Dvalishvili, “It’ll be a fun fight, but… Merab’s going to come out ahead on that one,” said John Wood.

He further added, “I feel like we’ve kind of fought that style before. He is a tough guy. He’s tricky. But like I said, I know Merab, and I know what he can do, and I know what we’re going to do.” So, it does appear that Sandhagen may most likely be a challenge for ‘The Machine’ in his third title defense. Exciting times for the bantamweight division ahead!