Umar Nurmagomedov OUT, Cory Sandhagen Faces Rob Font in Nashville
A huge top-10 fight has just been announced. Cory Sandhagen will face Rob Font in the main event of UFC Fight Night: 226 on August 5th, in Nashville, Tennessee, per Meni Mayer.
Umar Nurmagomedov was initially scheduled to face Cory Sandhagen but has withdrawn from the bout due to undisclosed injuries. Song Yadong was also supposed to face Rob Font at UFC 292, and it is unknown what the UFC plans on doing with Yadong next.
This five-round main event occurs in the Bantamweight (135 lbs) division.
Cory Sandhagen is ranked #4 in the Bantamweight division and holds a professional record of 16-4 (9-3 UFC). He holds notable wins over Song Yadong, Marlon Vera, and Frankie Edgar.
Rob Font holds a professional record of 20-6 (10-5 UFC) and is ranked #7 in the Bantamweight division. He has credible wins over Adrian Yanez, Cody Garbrandt, and Ricky Simon.
Official odds have yet to be released.
Cory Sandhagen is riding a monumental two-fight win streak. After suffering back-to-back losses to T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan, Sandhagen accepted a main event against Song Yadong. In this bout, Sandhagen demonstrated his ability to mix up his striking and grappling, leading him to win via fourth-round doctors stoppage. Then he fought Marlon Vera in another main event and used his diverse striking to shut down Vera for most of the contest, eventually winning via decision. Now, he looks to get his third straight main event victory over Font, and he'll be looking to use his entire martial arts skillset.
Rob Font is also coming off a massive victory. After losing competitive decisions to Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera, Font took nearly a year off to recover and improve his game. In his return bout, he took a matchup against rising contender Adrian Yanez on the main card of UFC 287. Font dominated Yanez throughout the bout despite entering as an underdog, piecing him up on the feet and winning via first-round KO. Now, he'll be looking to use his standup to get a second straight victory over Cory Sandhagen, which could line him up for a #1 contender fight.
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