Sean O’Malley gives Cory Sandhagen a chance to dethrone Merab Dvalishvili.

O’Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) is coming off back-to-back title losses to bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC), most recently getting submitted at UFC 316 in June.

Dvalishvili will make a less than four-month turnaround to defend his belt against Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the UFC 320 main event on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas, his third title defense of the year.

“The dude jumped into a frozen lake on top of his head; not surprised that he’s fighting back-to-back-to-back times,” O’Malley told MMA Junkie of Dvalishvili. “He’s a savage. He’s built for fighting, and why not take advantage of it? Not surprised at all.”

According to BetMGM, Sandhagen is a +275 betting underdog against the champion, who is a -350 favorite. O’Malley thinks Sandhagen’s well-rounded skillset could surprise Dvalishvili.

“Merab is improving each fight, but he’s still – to this day, I watch him and I’m like, ‘God, I know I can knock this motherf*cker out,'” O’Malley said. “He’s sloppy in certain positions and he’s beatable. He’s definitely beatable and you can’t count Cory out.

“Cory is one of the most skilled guys in the UFC, not just in the bantamweight division. You can’t count Cory out. I’m very curious to see how that fight plays out, what happens if Merab gets a hold of Cory. Merab felt super strong, so I’m curious to see what kind of scrambles Cory can create and if he can give him any trouble.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean O’Malley predicts Cory Sandhagen vs. Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 320