Sandhagen vs. Font Preview
The UFC is heading back to Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday August 5 for UFC on ESPN 50. The main event will be a fight between two bantamweights with potential title implications as former interim title challenger Corey Sandhagen will face battle-tested veteran #7 Rob Font.
Sandhagen was scheduled to fight Umar Nurmagomedov, but Nurmagomedov was forced to withdraw from the fight in July due to a shoulder injury. Font will step in on short notice but the fight will be fought at a catchweight of 140 pounds. Despite the bout being fought at a catchweight, this will most certainly be a bantamweight showcase and the winner could be next in line to challenge for the title.
Sandhagen is riding two straight wins into the fight, a TKO of Song Yadong and a split decision victory over Marlon Vera. He has rebounded well since losing a unanimous decision to Petr Yan at UFC 267 for the interim title.
The 31-year-old responded to fighting a new opponent on Saturday. “I feel like the amateur days in MMA really prepare you for the kind of s–t show that this sport can sometimes feel like it is,” said Sandhagen. “As far as things just not going to plan for reasons that are kind of no one’s fault.”
Sandhagen spoke about the kind of stakes a win over his original opponent meant for him. “[The Nurmagomedov fight was] bringing a No. 1 contender spot to me that was offered to me by the UFC if I took the Umar fight,” Sandhagen explained, “because no one else wanted to fight him.”
The former title challenger will need to put that aside because he does understand how dangerous his new opponent is. “Fighting Rob Font is a different type of challenge because Rob is super seasoned,” Sandhagen said. “And he’s had his ups and downs and his fair share of adversity in the UFC, which I think brings out the best in people.
“So Rob does pose different challenges, but I want to beat Rob just as bad as I wanted to beat Umar. And that’s how I feel about every single person that I face.”
Sandhagen concluded, “I do like that I’m switching from Umar to Font and then not Font to Umar because I am super familiar with fighting this type of person,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for a really long time now. It’s a style that I feel like I have a lot of really good and familiar answers with. So the matchup itself, as far as Rob goes as martial arts style, [I’m] extremely familiar with and very comfortable fighting that type of person on two weeks’ notice.”
Sandhagen has proven that he can hang with the best bantamweights in the world. His only bad loss in the UFC was a first round submission defeat to current champion Aljamain Sterling back in 2020. If he wants to avenge the loss he cannot look beyond Rob Font who has proven he is perfectly comfortable stepping in on short notice and fighting as the underdog.
Font is 7-3 in his last 10 fights and is coming off a devastating TKO victory over Adrian Yanez at UFC 287. The 36-year-old made his UFC debut in 2014 and he has key victories over Cody Garbrandt, Marlon Moraes, Ricky Simon, Sergio Pettis, Thomas Almeida and Matt Schnell.
Font knows what a win on Saturday means for him. “I am looking to get a huge win against Cory so I can get closer to a title match,” said Font. “It won’t be easy, but I am riding the momentum of a huge win over Adrian Yanez last time.”
The Boston native talked about losing two in a row before defeating Yanez. “There were all these doubts and the naysayers didn’t help. You cannot imagine how huge that win over Yanez was while receiving Performance of the Night and the bonus. That was sweet,” he added.
Font is planning on bringing a fan-pleasing fight to the octagon with Sandhagen. “I am super motivated," he exclaimed. “It is a huge fight with a lot of upside for me. The UFC knows I am going to put on a show and I am going to bring it, and look for a finish.”
He concluded, “This is going to be a tricky fight,” said Font. “Cory is smart and has very good footwork. Furthermore, he is explosive with good combinations.”
“I am good at that too and I hope to make the most out of my reach advantage on him. The good thing about Cory is I don’t think I need to chase him around the cage.”
The rest of the main card:
Women's Strawweight - #5 Jéssica Andrade vs. #10 Tatiana Suarez
Light Heavyweight - #15 Dustin Jacoby vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Featherweight - Diego Lopes vs. Gavin Tucker
Light Heavyweight - Tanner Boser vs. Aleksa Camur
Lightweight - Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Ľudovít Klein
ESPN Prelims:
Featherweight - Billy Quarantillo vs. Damon Jackson
Bantamweight - Kyler Phillips vs. Raoni Barcelos
Welterweight - Jeremiah Wells vs. Carlston Harris
Flyweight - Cody Durden vs. Jake Hadley
Flyweight - Ode' Osbourne vs. Assu Almabayev
