UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen

UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen.
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	March 25, 2023 (2023-03-25)
Venue	AT&T Center
City	San Antonio, Texas, United States
Attendance	16,076 [1]
Total gate	$2,150,000 [1]
Event chronology
UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2

UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen (also known as UFC on ESPN 43) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 25, 2023, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, United States. ^{[2] [3]}

Background

The event marked the promotion's third visit to San Antonio and first since UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards in July 2019. ^[2]

A bantamweight bout between Marlon Vera and former interim UFC Bantamweight Championship challenger Cory Sandhagen headlined the event. ^[4] They were previously expected to headline UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield, but were rescheduled to this event for unknown reasons. ^[5]

Although it was not announced by the promotion, a rematch between Irene Aldana and former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger Raquel Pennington was originally rumored to headline this event. ^[6] The pair previously met at UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards, where Pennington won by a split decision. ^[7] However, the bout never materialized.

Sean Brady and Michel Pereira were expected to meet in a welterweight bout. ^[8] However, Brady pulled out in mid-February due to a torn groin and the bout was scrapped. ^[9]

A featherweight bout between Alex Caceres and Nate Landwehr was expected to take place at the event. ^[10] However, Caceres withdrew due to an undisclosed reason and was replaced by Austin Lingo. ^[11]

Liang Na and Brogan Walker-Sanchez were expected to meet in a women's flyweight bout. ^[12] However, Liang pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and Walker-Sanchez was moved to UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes a month later as a replacement against Iasmin Lucindo. ^[13]

Tamires Vidal was expected to face Hailey Cowan in a women's bantamweight bout at the event. ^[14] However, Vidal pulled out due to undisclosed medical reasons and the pairing was scrapped. ^[15]

A lightweight bout between Manuel Torres and Trey Ogden was expected to take place at the event, but it was cancelled the day before due to Torres suffering a medical issue. ^[16]

Former UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Alex Perez and former Rizin Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape were expected to meet on the main card. ^[17] However, the pairing was cancelled during the broadcast as Perez suffered a seizure backstage. ^{[18] [19]}

During the event's broadcast, former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Donald Cerrone was announced as the next "modern wing" UFC Hall of Fame inductee. ^[20]

Results

Main card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Bantamweight	Cory Sandhagen	def.	Marlon Vera	Decision (split) (47–48, 50–45, 49–46)	5	5:00
Women's Bantamweight	Holly Holm	def.	Yana Santos	Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Nate Landwehr	def.	Austin Lingo	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	4:11
Women's Flyweight	Maycee Barber	def.	Andrea Lee	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Albert Duraev	def.	Chidi Njokuani	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Daniel Pineda	def.	Tucker Lutz	Submission (guillotine choke)	2	2:50
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Featherweight	Lucas Alexander	def.	Steven Peterson	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Trevin Giles	def.	Preston Parsons	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Flyweight	C.J. Vergara	def.	Daniel da Silva	TKO (punches)	2	4:04
Flyweight	Victor Altamirano	def.	Vinicius Salvador	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00

^[21]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[22]

• Fight of the Night: C.J. Vergara vs. Daniel da Silva
• Performance of the Night: Nate Landwehr and Daniel Pineda

See also

• Martial Arts portal

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

References

1. Mike Bohn (2023-03-26). "UFC on ESPN 43 post-event facts: Charles Oliveira's longstanding record under threat". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
2. Jay Anderson (2022-12-08). "UFC heading to San Antonio for March 25, 2023 Fight Night event". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
3. Nolan King (2022-12-08). "UFC officially announces early 2023 schedule: Dates, locations, and venues". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
4. Staff (2023-02-02). "Cory Sandhagen vs. Marlon Vera rebooked to headline March 25 UFC event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
5. Mike Bohn (2022-12-23). "Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen to headline UFC Fight Night on Feb. 18". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
6. Vipin Raghuwanshi (2023-01-26). "Irene Aldana vs Raquel Pennington 2 to Headline UFC San Antonio". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
7. Heath Harshman (2019-07-20). "UFC San Antonio results: Raquel Pennington snaps Skid with split-decision win over Irene Aldana". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
8. Drake Riggs (2022-12-26). "Sean Brady vs. Michel Pereira on tap for UFC San Antonio in March". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
9. Staff (2023-02-11). "Sean Brady says he tore groin; UFC on ESPN 43 fight with Michel Pereira off". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
10. Nolan King (2023-01-12). "UFC adds Alex Caceres vs. Nate Landwehr to San Antonio lineup". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
11. Hubert Zdun (2023-03-13). "Nate Landwehr will face Austin Lingo at UFC San Antonio". mmarocks.pl. Retrieved 2023-03-15.(in Polish)
12. Staff (2023-02-10). "Na Liang faces Brogan Walker at UFC San Antonio". asianmma.com. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
13. Arshad (2023-03-17). "Brogan Walker replaced M.Martinez against Iasmin Lucindo at April 22 UFC event". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
14. Nolan King (2023-03-10). "UFC on ESPN 43 gets late addition: Hailey Cowan vs. Tamires Vidal for San Antonio". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
15. Matthew Wells (2023-03-23). "UFC on ESPN 43 news: Tamires Vidal out, Hailey Cowan's debut delayed again". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
16. Staff (2023-03-24). "Manuel Torres medical issue scraps Trey Ogden fight at UFC on ESPN 43". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
17. Matthew Wells and Mike Bohn (2022-12-23). "Ranked UFC flyweights Alex Perez, Manel Kape to clash in March". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
18. Matthew Wells (2023-03-25). "Fight day medical issue forces Alex Perez out of UFC on ESPN 43 vs. Manel Kape". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
19. Newswire (2023-03-26). "Alex Perez says backstage 'seizure' caused UFC San Antonio fight cancellation". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
20. Marc Raimondi (2023-03-25). "Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". espn.com. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
21. "UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
22. Matt Erickson (2023-03-25). "UFC on ESPN 43 bonuses: Early Comeback of Year candidate gets $50,000". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-03-25.