UFC_on_ESPN_50
UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font
Mixed martial arts event in 2023
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]
| UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | August 5, 2023 (2023-08-05) | |||
| Venue | Bridgestone Arena | |||
| City | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | |||
| Attendance | 17,792[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,102,127.12[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
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]
| 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 | |
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
- Mike Bohn (2023-08-06). "UFC on ESPN 50 post-event facts: Cory Sandhagen, Rob Font set dubious record for lack of strikes". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- Staff (2023-06-12). "UFC heading to Nashville, Tenn. on Aug. 5, says commission". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
- Nolan King and Matthew Wells (2023-06-15). "UFC books Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov headliner for Nashville". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- Nolan King (2023-07-19). "Umar Nurmagomedov out of UFC on ESPN 50 main event vs. Cory Sandhagen". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
- Nolan King (2023-07-20). "Rob Font steps into UFC Nashville main event vs. Cory Sandhagen after Umar Nurmagomedov's withdrawal". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- Drake Riggs (2023-05-18). "Tatiana Suarez draws Virna Jandiroba for strawweight return in August". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- Matthew Wells and Nolan King (2023-06-20). "Virna Jandiroba injured; Tatiana Suarez to face former UFC champ Jessica Andrade in Nashville". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
- Harvey Leonard (2023-05-28). "UFC matchmaking bulletin (5/22-5/27): UFC 291 gets welterweight addition, two cancelations". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
- Shivam Tiwari (2023-05-28). "Tagir Ulanbekov out, Cody Durden in vs Jake Hadley for UFC Nashville". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
- Jay Anderson (2023-05-23). "UFC: Kyler Phillips vs. Said Nurmagomedov booked for August 5". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- Krishna Venki (2023-07-20). ""All the Nurmagomedovs pulling out" - Said Nurmagomedov pulling out of UFC Nashville shortly after Umar Nurmagomedov creates frenzy among fans". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- Nolan King (2023-06-07). "Tennessee's Ovince Saint Preux meets Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night expected for Nashville". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- Pranav Pandey (2023-07-20). "BREAKING: Another fight called off from UFC Nashville card". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- Jay Anderson (2023-07-20). "Jeremiah Wells vs. Carlston Harris, Sean Woodson vs. Steve Garcia announced for UFC Nashville". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
- News Desk (2023-07-19). "Sean Woodson vs Jesse Butler set for Aug 5 UFC event". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
- Alexander K. Lee (2023-07-31). "Jesse Butler out of UFC Nashville, Sean Woodson seeks third opponent". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
- Tudor Leonte (2023-08-01). "Sean Woodson gets third opponent in Mairon Santos Alves at UFC on ESPN 50". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
- Drake Riggs (2023-08-01). "Fourth opponent?!?!? UFC Nashville adds last-minute fight to thrashed card with just days until showtime". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
- Staff (2023-08-04). "UFC on ESPN 50 weigh-in results: Short notice leads to one heavy fighter in Nashville". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- "UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- Matt Erickson (2023-08-06). "UFC on ESPN 50 bonuses: Tatiana Suarez among five $50,000 'Music City' winners". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.