Cory Sandhagen vs. Rob Font Booked at 140 Pounds as New UFC Nashville Headliner

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

A few injuries to top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship contenders have resulted in some significant card switches.

Per ESPN on Thursday, Rob Font (20-6) has been tapped as the replacement for the injured Umar Nurmagomedov for UFC Nashville. The Aug. 5 headliner now set as a 140-pound catchweight affair, it will play out between Font and Cory Sandhagen (16-4) over the course of five rounds. Font was initially planning on facing Yadong Song at UFC 292 two weeks later, but an injury to Song allows for Font to take this matchup on short notice.

In April, Font bounced back from a two-decision skid to Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera by clocking Adrian Yanez in the first round at UFC 287. Prior to the pair of five-round defeats to Aldo and Vera, the Boston native had strung together four straight wins over elite competition, including current Bellator MMA champ Sergio Pettis and former UFC champion Cody Garbrandt. Not counting when he missed weight prior to the Vera fight, this will be Font’s first outing outside of the bantamweight division since 2014, when he had yet to make his UFC debut.

Sandhagen remains on the billing as the winner of his last two, as he forced the doctors to intervene at the end of Round 4 against Song to earn the stoppage last September. Returning in March, Sandhagen outworked Vera over the course of five close rounds to get the split nod. In the UFC, the only men to beat him have been future or former champions Aljamain Sterling, T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan. On his way up the division, “The Sandman” prevailed over the likes of Frankie Edgar, Marlon Moraes and John Lineker.

UFC on ESPN 50, also known as UFC Nashville, will play out on Aug. 5 inside of the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Beyond the new main attraction, the co-main event is also different than initially intended, as Tatiana Suarez will collide with Jessica Andrade at 115 pounds. Other matchups featured on the main card include a light heavyweight banger between Dustin Jacoby and Kennedy Nzechukwu, and a featherweight battle when Diego Lopes faces off against Gavin Tucker.