Cory Sandhagen dominates Rob Font at UFC card in Nashville

Sandhagen wins all five rounds against Font, putting himself in position to challenge for the bantamweight title

Even a torn tricep muscle could not stop Cory Sandhagen from dominating Rob Font.

Sandhagen controlled the ground in all five rounds, showcasing the finer nuances of jiu-jitsu at Font’s expense. Though the technical bout did not resonate with the crowd in Nashville–there was simply no offensive output with Sandhagen and Font combining for a shockingly low 43 significant strikes–the victory stands as the third straight for Sandhagen and puts him closer to his pursuit of the bantamweight title.

“I was real happy with it,” says Sandhagen (17-4). “I felt something weird happen with my elbow in the first round, and it got worse in the second and third. If I can feel it in the fight, I know it’s hurt, and I noticed it. The doctor thought I tore my tricep, but I still controlled the hell out of Font.”

Font (20-7) always has a chance on his feet, but he had nothing for Sandhagen on the ground.

“Font has a giant hole there,” says Sandhagen. “He doesn’t get up good, and he doesn’t defend shots good. So against a guy like that, I’m not even going to give him a crack at winning.”

This was not the most entertaining fight, but it was a win for Sandhagen against a top seven-ranked opponent. Font was giving Sandhagen positions, and Sandhagen capitalized without taking damage. The end result was a scorecard with Sandhagen winning each round, 10-9, for a 50-45 unanimous decision victory.

Despite the chorus of boos, Sandhagen knew he accomplished what he set out to do.

“I heard it, but I don’t care,” says Sandhagen. “I love the fans and I want to do right by them, but if someone has a giant hole in their game and I can take zero damage beating them, I’m going to do that.”

This fight was intended to be Sandhagen against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov, but Nurmagomedov withdrew from the bout due to a shoulder injury. Instead of rescheduling the bout against Nurmagomedov, Sandhagen wants the winner of the upcoming Aljamain Sterling-Sean O’Malley title fight in two weeks at UFC 292.

If Sterling wins, it is possible he vacates the belt and moves to featherweight, potentially opening the door for a bout between Sandhagen and Merab Dvalishvili to crown a new champion.

“I’m the guy fighting for the title next,” says Sandhagen. “Umar has to get back in the line. I gave him his shot, and it didn’t happen.”

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.