UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font

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
Venue	Bridgestone Arena
City	Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Attendance	17,792
Total gate	$2,102,127.12
Event chronology

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