| UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font | ||||
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The poster for UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font
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| 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 | ||||
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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 ArenainNashville, Tennessee, United States.[2]
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]
| 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 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[21]
