Outside of the Aljo Cory Sandhagen never been convincingly beaten/dominated.

Cory is a little overrated imo

He’s obviously good but he hasn’t really stepped up at the elite elite level yet

Time will tell
What the fuck is the elite level? Top 2 or 3 in a division?

Don't be retarded
 
The level that he can become champion which I’m not convinced he’s at yet but again time will tell.
That's too tight a definition of elite

In every sport in the world people are considered elite without being one of only 2 or 3 guys who can be world champ at any given moment
 
Huh? Styles make fights

Merab was outwrestled and clearly lost 2 rounds vs Umar, and then Umar gassed from the pace and THAT is when Merab had success. That's taking nothing away from Merab, the way he weaponizes cardio is amazing. But his wrestling isn't better than Umar's. His cardio and ability to push a pace is.

Merab doesn't overwhelm guys with superior skill. He overwhelms them with grueling pace. The thing is, Corey has elite cardio too. He won't wilt or fade. So while Merab's best weapon can and does allow him to melt guys who are better than he is when both are fresh (Umar), that is unlikely to happen vs another cardio machine like Corey.
Yes and no. Everything in the first paragraph is true and a more accurate account of the fight with Umar. I also agree with most of the second paragraph. The problem for Sandhagen is Merab is the better wrestler and while the weaponized cardio probably doesn't get him the W in this fight, his superior wrestling might. The wildcard is that Cory's grappling has improved remarkably since the Aljo fight. He gets better every fight. I just don't know if it will be enough to keep Merab off him for 5 rounds. Can Sandhagen implement his own gameplan or will he be on the back foot for 5 rounds with Merab coming at him like he was being fired from a canon? I'm rooting for Sandhagen but I expect him to be a pretty big underdog in the fight.

Edit: I also think Merab is the physically stronger fighter which I expect to make a difference in the wrestling.
 
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Yes and no. Everything in the first paragraph is true and a more accurate account of the fight with Umar. I also agree with most of the second paragraph. The problem for Sandhagen is Merab is the better wrestler and while the weaponized cardio probably doesn't get him the W in this fight, his superior wrestling might. The wildcard is that Cory's grappling has improved remarkably since the Aljo fight. He gets better every fight. I just don't know if it will be enough to keep Merab off him for 5 rounds. Can Sandhagen implement his own gameplan or will he be on the back foot for 5 rounds with Merab coming at him like he was being fired from a canon? I'm rooting for Sandhagen but I expect him to be a pretty big underdog in the fight.

Edit: I also think Merab is the physically stronger fighter which I expect to make a difference in the wrestling.

Corey is a big underdog, I can get him around +300 right now. And I'm not saying I know he's gonna win, but I'm extremely confident that he way outperforms that betting line and that he will at least be in the fight and have a better chance than the line suggests.
Merab is the better wrestler but versus capable grapplers he's not a top control dynamo. He shoots, they use energy stopping the TD, he shoots again. Maybe he gets one here and there and they use energy getting back up. After a couple rounds they don't have the gas to mount any offense of their own. It's an unsustainable way of fighting for anyone but Merab and maybe Fluffy at MW. But it works brilliantly for him.
With Corey, so far we've seen an A+ gas tank so this style of Merab's **might** be far less effective. Add in that Corey is the more dynamic striker with more finishing upside and that he has an extremely high fight IQ...he's very live imo.
 
Was it not a hard fight though?
This is as dumb as ts talking about how hard a time Yan had with Cory. With the same reality both guys beat his ass up and nearly finished him at one point to win 4 rounds to 1 after giving him a round 1 feeling out process.

Wait I didn't realize this was also you dumb theard literally saying Cory got a 48-47 there lying too.
 
This is as dumb as ts talking about how hard a time Yan had with Cory. With the same reality both guys beat his ass up and nearly finished him at one point to win 4 rounds to 1 after giving him a round 1 feeling out process.

Wait I didn't realize this was also you dumb theard literally saying Cory got a 48-47 there lying too.

It wasn't like the Yan fight at all. Cory landed 169 ss vs Yan, outlanded him by 20. Yan got a knockdown but never had Cory hurt at all. Nobody would objectively watch that fight and think it was anywhere in the vicinity of being stopped. Cory could've absolutely gotten another round vs Yan, although Yan did definitely deserve the decision.

Merab clearly won 4 rounds, allowed Cory to land half the ss that Yan did, and DID actually have Cory in real trouble in rd 2. As a Cory fan, he wasn't as competitive as I thought he'd be (although he was obviously game and kept fighting all the way through).

Cory vs Yan and Cory vs Merab are not comparable fights.
 
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