At the UFC 320 co-main event, Merab Dvalishvili delivered a record-breaking performance against Cory Sandhagen. After five rounds of total domination, ‘The Machine’ shattered the 100-takedown mark while scoring 20 takedowns of his own in this matchup. However, as ‘The Sandman’ felt gutted after the loss, he pointed out that what looked like a wrestling masterclass from the 135 lbs kingpin wasn’t actually that impressive.  

On The Ariel Helwani Show, Cory Sandhagen called Dvalishvili’s 20 takedowns “funny.” The reason? It’s because the Colorado native explained that the Georgian’s attempts weren’t real takedowns but just “mat returns.” But, not only that, Sandhagen added, “It’s not like he was picking me up and slamming me. If you just bump me down to my knees, I just have to get back up.” Backing Sandhagen’s take, former two-division UFC champion and Olympian Daniel Cormier also weighed in on the issue. 

Daniel Cormier sides with Cory Sandhagen over Merab Dvalishvili’s takedown attempts 

On ESPN’s Good Guy / Bad Guy show, ‘DC’ said, “I’m gonna get in trouble for this. Cause I always get in trouble for this. Cory Sandhagen is a little bit off. He is a little bit off in his assessment of what was happening. What he got done to him was MMA takedowns. It doesn’t score in wrestling. When Khabib got 24 takedowns (Khabib Nurmagomedov holds the UFC record for most takedowns in a single fight with 21 against Abel Trujillo at UFC 160), those are MMA takedowns. They don’t score in wrestling.”    

Cormier is definitely right here! MMA takedown scoring differs from actual wrestling takedown scoring. For the unversed, a wrestling takedown is generally scored when a wrestler takes the opponent from a standing position to the mat and gains control. That said, different wrestling disciplines have their own variations of this rule. However, a fighter like Merab Dvalishvili, who relentlessly shoots against his opponents, naturally holds a certain edge. Something the former champ clearly explained. 

The former UFC double champ added, “What Merab did to Cory multiple times was to mat return him. He never broke his lock; he always had his hands locked. When Cory would get up, he would pick him up and put him back down to the mat. Because Cory sits on his feet and got taken back down to the ground with control, it’s counted as a takedown.”

That’s exactly where Cory Sandhagen found the problem. In wrestling, the term ‘mat return’ is used when a wrestler gets the opponent down on the mat but doesn’t hold the position long enough, allowing the grounded wrestler to quickly get back up. At UFC 320, ‘The Sandman’ managed to stand up from most of Merab’s takedown attempts, without gaining much control in most of those attempts. That’s why he felt the grappling wasn’t truly effective. 

However, since mat returns don’t apply under MMA rules, fighters like Merab can definitely gain some advantage. Still, Daniel Cormier believes this is a major issue in today’s martial arts scoring system, and he even used an example to explain it. 

Daniel Cormier’s problem with MMA takedowns 

In the MMA world, scoring a successful takedown has always been a point of debate among fans, much like a significant strike. Here too, ‘DC’ pointed out how the UFC, and MMA in general, has been creating confusion by not following the actual wrestling takedown rule set. To shed more light on the issue, the former champ brought up Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington’s UFC 268 rematch, where ‘Chaos’ wasn’t credited with a takedown. 

On the Good Guy  / Bad Guy show, Cormier added, “I have long had a problem (with) how they score mixed martial arts takedowns. Colby Covington vs Kamaru Usman, for that matter. Colby knocks him down, covers him, Kamaru pops right back up, not a takedown because he wasn’t down long enough. Whereas in wrestling, that would have been a takedown, the moments Kamaru’s hands went to the mat.”  Well, the former two-division UFC champ didn’t just point out the problem and walk away. 

He also offered a solution, adding, “A takedown should be when you go to the mat. A takedown shouldn’t be when you get back up and the guy picks you up and just puts you back down. He never lost control.” Whether the UFC actually incorporates this rule or not, only time will tell. 

That said, what do you think? How should MMA score a takedown? And do you agree with Daniel Cormier? Share your thoughts in the comments below.