Top Bantamweight Pulled From UFC 292 To Fight Cory Sandhagen at UFC Nashville

This fighter will have a chance to climb the bantamweight rankings with a huge short-notice opportunity.

Rob Font is stepping in to face Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Nashville after Umar Nurmagomedov was forced off of the card due to injury.

The matchup between Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov promised to be one of the UFC’s more intriguing non-title fights scheduled for the latter half of the year, but unfortunately Nurmagomedov had to withdraw from his first main event slot after injuring his shoulder during a sparring session.

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It wasn't an easy task for the UFC to find a replacement opponent for Sandhagen with UFC Nashville just a few weeks away, but according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi the #7-ranked Font has agreed to a five-round catchweight bout.

Cory Sandhagen will now fight Rob Font at a catchweight in the main event of UFC Nashville on Aug. 5, sources told ESPN. Five-round fight.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) July 20, 2023

“Cory Sandhagen will now fight Rob Font at a catchweight in the main event of UFC Nashville on Aug. 5, sources told ESPN. Five-round fight.”

Font was already booked to meet Song Yadong as part of the main card for UFC 292 in Boston, however a matchup with the #4-ranked Sandhagen will provide a huge chance for the 36-year-old to potentially crack the bantamweight Top 5. 

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(Rich Storry/USA TODAY Sports)

The New England Cartel-trained fighter was on a difficult two-fight losing streak heading into this year, but he snapped that skid with a sensational knockout of Adrian Yanez at UFC 287.

Sandhagen now finds himself matched with a higher-ranked opponent than the unbeaten Nurmagomedov, and both he and Font will be hoping to put on a convincing performance at UFC Nashville before Aljamain Sterling defends his bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley just two weeks later at UFC 292.

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