The UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Font event took place on August 5, 2023, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The main event featured a bantamweight bout between Cory Sandhagen and Rob Font.
Cory Sandhagen defeats Rob Font by 50-45 UD at #UFCNashville pic.twitter.com/1PSq5qkGBp
— AlAudhli 𝕏 العوذلي (@AAudhli) August 6, 2023
Sandhagen entered the fight as the No. 4 ranked bantamweight in the world, while Font was ranked No. 7. Sandhagen was coming off a split decision victory over Marlon Vera, while Font was coming off a knockout win over Adrian Yanez.
The fight was close in the beginning until it wasn’t. That is when Cory Sandhagen took over with his wrestling and grappling. He showed that he was levels above Rob Font in the grappling and just absolutely dominated him on the mat. As he acted like a wet blanket just not letting Font get up or let him breathe when on the mat.
With the win, Sandhagen moved up to the No. 3 spot in the bantamweight rankings. He is now one step closer to a title shot. Font, on the other hand, fell to No. 8 in the rankings. He will need to get back on track with a few wins if he wants to get back into title contention.
5 Fights to Make After UFC Nashville
Cory Sandhagen vs. Aljamain Sterling/Sean O’Malley
Even though his fight with Font was a snoozefest, with Merab Dvalishvili out of the picture due to injury, Sandhagen should be next in line for a bantamweight title shot. It remains to be seen whether or not Dana White would honor that while Sandhagen is in the doghouse after that performance.
Rob Font vs. Song Yadong
This was Rob Font’s original opponent for UFC 292 in Boston, Massachusets but he instead took the opportunity to fight a bigger name and high-ranked opposition on short at UFC Nashville that unfortunately didn’t go his way. This fight with Yadong is the perfect fight between two middle-ranked contenders in the bantamweight division.
Tatiana Suarez vs Zhang Weili/Amanda Lemos
Tatiana Suarez returned to the strawweight division looking like she never left. The undefeated contender made easy work of the former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade, choking her out midway through the second round. A performance like that deserves an immediate title and after UFC 292 she may be right on her way to her first-ever championship bout.
Dustin Jacoby vs Alonzo Menifield
Dustin Jacoby just knocked out Kennedy Nzechukwu in devastating fashion in the first round to maintain his spot in the top 15 ranked light heavyweight contenders. He should finally get a ranked opponent ahead of him and sitting at No. 14 is Alonzo Menifield. Both fighters are coming off sensational performances and this would be the perfect matchup for both fighters to showcase their abilities.
Diego Lopes vs Damon Jackson
Diego Lopes is coming off his first win inside the octagon and it was an impressive one when he submitted Gavin Tucker with a triangle armbar in the first round. That kind of fighting would make for a fun fight with someone like Damon Jackson who loves to grapple with the best. Unfortunately, Jackson was on the wrong end of a close decision against Billy Quarantillo but this matchup with Lopes would be a great scrap between two submission grapplers.
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