Cory Sandhagen has striking advice for UFC 320 champion Merab Dvalishvili

The book on Merab Dvalishvili is pretty well-established by now, and Cory Sandhagen knows that story as well as any observer can ahead of their UFC 320 bantamweight championship showdown.

So forgive Sandhagen’s skepticism when his champion opponent for their Oct. 4 pay-per-view clash in Las Vegas recently put it out there that he’d be seeking a knockout and to keep their fight standing, rather than relentlessly seek takedowns and advantageous grappling scenarios.

“I don’t buy it,” Sandhagen said through a laugh during a recent conversation with The Post while promoting Aires EMF protection technology. “… Merab’s gonna hit me, though. He’s not a dumbass; he’ll be able to hit me. It’s not like I expect to go out there and just tool him by a mile. I know that’s not going to be the case. He’s a hard worker, and he’s developing his game, and he has good coaches and all of that stuff too.

“But, I mean, there’s a pretty big gap there, and if he wants to test the gap, then cool. It’s going to be a lot easier of a night than I thought it was going to be.”