UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font

UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	August 5, 2023 (2023-08-05)
Venue	Bridgestone Arena
City	Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Attendance	17,792 [1]
Total gate	$2,102,127.12 [1]
Event chronology
UFC 291: Poirier vs. Gaethje 2 UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos

UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font (also known as UFC on ESPN 50) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 5, 2023 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. ^[2]

Background

The event marked the promotion's sixth visit to Nashville and first since UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis in March 2019. ^[2]

A bantamweight bout between former interim UFC Bantamweight Championship challenger Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov was expected to headline the event. ^[3] However, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the event in mid-July due to a shoulder injury. ^[4] He was replaced by Rob Font in a catchweight bout of 140 pounds. ^[5]

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia women's strawweight winner Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba were scheduled to meet in a women's strawweight bout. ^[6] However on June 20, it was announced that Jandiroba pulled out due to a knee injury and was replaced by former UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Jéssica Andrade. ^[7]

Tagir Ulanbekov and Jake Hadley were expected to meet in a flyweight bout at this event. ^[8] However, Ulanbekov withdrew due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Cody Durden. ^[9]

A bantamweight bout between Said Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips was expected to take place at the event. ^[10] However, Nurmagomedov withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Raoni Barcelos. ^[11]

A light heavyweight bout between Ovince Saint Preux and Ion Cuțelaba was expected to take place at the event. ^[12] However, the bout was cancelled on July 20 for unknown reasons. ^[13]

Sean Woodson and Steve Garcia were expected to meet in a featherweight bout at the event. ^[14] However, the bout was scrapped after Garcia got injured and Woodson was booked against Jesse Butler. ^[15] In turn, Butler was removed by the Nevada Athletic Commission during fight week due to a recent knockout loss two months earlier. ^[16] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Mairon Santos. ^[17] However, due to visa issues, Santos was removed from the bout and replaced with promotional newcomer Dennis Buzukja. ^[18] At the weigh-ins, Buzukja weighed in at 146.5 pounds, half a pound over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20 percent of his purse, which went to Woodson. ^[19]

Results

Main card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Catchweight (140 lb)	Cory Sandhagen	def.	Rob Font	Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45)	5	5:00
Women's Strawweight	Tatiana Suarez	def.	Jéssica Andrade	Submission (guillotine choke)	2	1:31
Light Heavyweight	Dustin Jacoby	def.	Kennedy Nzechukwu	TKO (punches)	1	1:22
Featherweight	Diego Lopes	def.	Gavin Tucker	Submission (armbar)	1	1:38
Light Heavyweight	Tanner Boser	def.	Aleksa Camur	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Ľudovít Klein	def.	Ignacio Bahamondes	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN/ ESPN+)
Bantamweight	Kyler Phillips	def.	Raoni Barcelos	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Carlston Harris	def.	Jeremiah Wells	Technical Submission (anaconda choke)	3	1:50
Featherweight	Billy Quarantillo	def.	Damon Jackson	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Flyweight	Cody Durden	def.	Jake Hadley	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Catchweight (146.5 lb)	Sean Woodson	def.	Dennis Buzukja	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Flyweight	Assu Almabayev	def.	Ode' Osbourne	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	3:11

^[20]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[21]

• Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
• Performance of the Night: Tatiana Suarez, Dustin Jacoby, Diego Lopes, Carlston Harris, and Assu Almabayev

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• List of UFC events
• List of current UFC fighters
• 2023 in UFC

References

1. Mike Bohn (2023-08-06). "UFC on ESPN 50 post-event facts: Cory Sandhagen, Rob Font set dubious record for lack of strikes". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
2. Staff (2023-06-12). "UFC heading to Nashville, Tenn. on Aug. 5, says commission". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
3. Nolan King and Matthew Wells (2023-06-15). "UFC books Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov headliner for Nashville". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
4. Nolan King (2023-07-19). "Umar Nurmagomedov out of UFC on ESPN 50 main event vs. Cory Sandhagen". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
5. Nolan King (2023-07-20). "Rob Font steps into UFC Nashville main event vs. Cory Sandhagen after Umar Nurmagomedov's withdrawal". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
6. Drake Riggs (2023-05-18). "Tatiana Suarez draws Virna Jandiroba for strawweight return in August". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
7. Matthew Wells and Nolan King (2023-06-20). "Virna Jandiroba injured; Tatiana Suarez to face former UFC champ Jessica Andrade in Nashville". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
8. Harvey Leonard (2023-05-28). "UFC matchmaking bulletin (5/22-5/27): UFC 291 gets welterweight addition, two cancelations". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
9. Shivam Tiwari (2023-05-28). "Tagir Ulanbekov out, Cody Durden in vs Jake Hadley for UFC Nashville". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
10. Jay Anderson (2023-05-23). "UFC: Kyler Phillips vs. Said Nurmagomedov booked for August 5". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
11. Krishna Venki (2023-07-20). ""All the Nurmagomedovs pulling out" - Said Nurmagomedov pulling out of UFC Nashville shortly after Umar Nurmagomedov creates frenzy among fans". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
12. Nolan King (2023-06-07). "Tennessee's Ovince Saint Preux meets Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night expected for Nashville". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
13. Pranav Pandey (2023-07-20). "BREAKING: Another fight called off from UFC Nashville card". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
14. Jay Anderson (2023-07-20). "Jeremiah Wells vs. Carlston Harris, Sean Woodson vs. Steve Garcia announced for UFC Nashville". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
15. News Desk (2023-07-19). "Sean Woodson vs Jesse Butler set for Aug 5 UFC event". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
16. Alexander K. Lee (2023-07-31). "Jesse Butler out of UFC Nashville, Sean Woodson seeks third opponent". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
17. Tudor Leonte (2023-08-01). "Sean Woodson gets third opponent in Mairon Santos Alves at UFC on ESPN 50". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
18. Drake Riggs (2023-08-01). "Fourth opponent?!?!? UFC Nashville adds last-minute fight to thrashed card with just days until showtime". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
19. Staff (2023-08-04). "UFC on ESPN 50 weigh-in results: Short notice leads to one heavy fighter in Nashville". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
20. "UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
21. Matt Erickson (2023-08-06). "UFC on ESPN 50 bonuses: Tatiana Suarez among five $50,000 'Music City' winners". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.