Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Font
Get Ready For An Epic Action-Packed Event By Previewing Every Fight Taking Place In The UFC's Return To Nashville
By E. Spencer Kyte, on Twitter @spencerkyte • Jul. 31, 2023
The Octagon returns to Nashville for the sixth time, and the first since March 2019, bringing a lineup capped by a critical pairing between two of the bantamweight division’s elite.
Perennial contenders and Top 10 fixtures Cory Sandhagen and Rob Font meet in the main event, with the latter subbing in for Umar Nurmagomedov, forgoing a fight at home in Boston later in the month for the opportunity to headline opposite Sandhagen, who sits three spots ahead of him in the rankings.
The rest of Saturday’s card offers a mix of newcomers, ascending talents, and a handful of tenured competitors looking to make further headway in their respective divisions.
Let’s take a look at the athletes set to make the walk this weekend.
Main Event: Cory Sandhagen vs Rob Font
Facing off at a 140-pound catchweight, the headlining clash between Cory Sandhagen and Rob Font remains a pivotal matchup in the bantamweight division.
Sandhagen, who was initially slated to face rising star Umar Nurmagomedov, has earned consecutive victories heading into this one, following his September 2022 stoppage win over Song Yadong with a split decision triumph over Marlon “Chito” Vera in March. The Elevation Fight Team member is 9-3 inside the Octagon with six finishes, and each of his losses coming against men that have worn the bantamweight title.
Penciled in to face Song two weeks down the line when the UFC returns to Boston, Font opted to bounce to Nashville and fight forward in the divisional ranks instead. Coming off a first-round stoppage win over Adrian Yanez that stemmed a two-fight slide and re-affirmed his standing in the division, the proud new dad aims to pick up the biggest win of his career in Nashville this weekend.
With the bantamweight title on the line at UFC 292, this stands as a critical matchup to help determine where everyone stands heading into the final third of 2023 and is a competitive and intriguing pairing between two 135-pound stalwarts that should serve as an excellent finale to this weekend’s fight card.
Jessica Andrade vs Tatiana Suarez
Former strawweight champ Jessica Andrade makes her fourth appearance of 2023, tagging in to face off with rising contender Tatiana Suarez.
After earning a lopsided win over Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 in January, Andrade enters Saturday’s pairing on a two-fight slide, having been submitted by Erin Blanchfield in February and knocked out by Yan Xiaonan in her return to strawweight at UFC 288. Now more than four years removed from her title win, the 31-year-old Brazilian is just 1-3 in the division over her last four outings, and 4-5 overall since claiming the strawweight title.
More than three years on the sidelines didn’t really seem to slow Suarez down at all, as the unbeaten standout returned to action in February and picked up right where she left off, registering a second-round submission win over Montana De La Rosa to move to 9-0 overall. Now 32 years old and back in her natural surrounds at strawweight, the former TUF winner will look to take another step towards contention by adding to Andrade’s losing streak and extending her run of success to double digits.
Will the one-time divisional ruler and permanent presence in the title picture recapture her winning form or can Suarez keep rolling and move one step closer to a title shot of her own?
Dustin Jacoby vs Kennedy Nzechukwu
Light heavyweights stationed in the lower third of the rankings face off here, as Dustin Jacoby steps in with fellow Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) graduate Kennedy Nzechukwu.
Jacoby put together a seven-fight unbeaten streak after earning his way back onto the UFC roster in the summer of 2020, with many believing he’d done enough to push that run to eight in his split decision loss to Khalil Rountree Jr. last October. That narrow defeat was followed by a one-sided loss to Azamat Murzakanov in Kansas City earlier this year, leaving “The Hanyak” looking to avoid a three-fight slide this weekend.
Now in his fifth year as a member of the 205-pound ranks, Nzechukwu looks to have turned a corner of late, entering Saturday’s contest on a three-fight winning streak. Though he’s achieved the feat before, his current run of good form has come against more established competition, with the Fortis MMA product most recently earning a second-round submission win over Devin Clark at UFC 288.
This is the type of matchup that is going to illustrate whether the 31-year-old Nzechukwu is ready to make a run up the divisional ranks or not, as Jacoby has the kind of experienced, technical striking that will pick you apart and put you away if you’re not locked in on fight night.
Diego Lopes vs Gavin Tucker
After impressing in his short-notice debut, Diego Lopes gets his first full-camp fight in the UFC this weekend, taking on returning veteran Gavin Tucker.
The 28-year-old Lopes turned a rugged assignment against Movsar Evloev at UFC 288 and turned it into a breakthrough effort, giving an outstanding accounting of himself with zero preparation, pushing the unbeaten Russian every step of the way. Now the Brazilian featherweight with the “Bieber Mullet” (trademark pending) makes his return to action, looking to build on the positives he showed in May as he welcomes Tucker back to the Octagon.
Fighting for the first time in more than two years, the 37-year-old Newfoundland native pulled out of a pair of fights with Pat Sabatini in November 2021 and April 2022, respectively, and aims to bounce back from a knockout loss to Dan Ige in this one. Prior to that setback, Tucker had registered three straight wins, showing swift hands and clean, technical skills in every realm, so it’ll be interesting to see how he looks after this much time away.
Lopes earned rave reviews for his efforts against Evloev, but now the pressure is on to follow up that breakout performance by getting his first UFC win. Tucker is 13-2 as a pro and a bit of a wild card heading into this one, so make sure you’re locked in from the start of this one because how it plays out is anybody’s guess.
Tanner Boser vs Aleksa Camur
Tanner Boser and Aleksa Camur face off in a battle of light heavyweights looking to snap two-fight slides.
Never the biggest heavyweight on the roster, Boser dropped down to the 205-pound ranks in April, sharing the Octagon with Ion Cutelaba in Kansas City and failing to escape the first round. It was the fourth loss in five fights for the Alberta native, who carries a 4-5 record under the UFC banner into this weekend’s clash with Camur.
The 27-year-old Camur competes for the first time since June 2021. A member of the DWCS Class of ’19, Camur won his promotional debut at UFC 246, before dropping consecutive decisions to William Knight and Nicolae Negumereanu to fall to 6-2 as a professional.
It’ll be interesting to see what adjustments Boser has made since his divisional debut, as the speed and power of Cutelaba seemed to catch him off guard. As for Camur, it’s difficult to know what to expect from a relatively inexperienced fighter coming off a considerable layoff, but he showed flashes of promise early in his career and will look to tap into that again here now that he’s ready to return.
Ignacio Bahamondes vs Ludovit Klein
Talented lightweights looking to push their unbeaten runs to four face off in the main card opener, as Ignacio Bahamondes shares the Octagon with Ludovit Klein.
A graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, Bahamondes has registered three straight victories since dropping his promotional debut to John Makdessi in April 2021. He followed up his tandem third-round finishes of Roosevelt Roberts and Rong Zhu with a clean, unanimous decision victory over veteran Trey Ogden at UFC 287 in April, pushing his record to 14-4 in the process.
Consecutive featherweight setbacks prompted Klein to relocate to the 155-pound ranks, and he’s been unbeaten since, with decision wins over Devonte Smith and Mason Jones, and a majority draw with Jai Herbert last time out. The 28-year-old was slated to face Jim Miller in June, but was forced out due to an illness, resurfacing here.
Four-fight unbeaten streaks are not overly common in the lightweight division, so the winner of this one will head into the final four months of the year looking for a step up in competition and a chance to make an even greater splash next time out.
Prelim Fights
Billy Quarantillo vs Damon Jackson
Veteran featherweights Billy Quarantillo and Damon Jackson meet in the final preliminary card fight of the day, with each man looking to get things moving in the right direction again.
Quarantillo enters off a first-round knockout loss to Edson Barboza, while Jackson fights for the first time since running into Dan Ige in January. Both are consistently entertaining competitors with a wealth of experience, so this should be an exhilarating scrap to usher in the main card.
Kyler Phillips vs Raoni Barcelos
Kyler Phillips competes for the first time in 18 months, stepping back into the Octagon opposite Brazilian stalwart Raoni Barcelos.
Out since his win over Marcelo Rojo in February of last year, the 28-year-old Phillips is 4-1 in the UFC, including a win over Song Yadong, and 10-2 overall. Barcelos enters off a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov — who was originally scheduled to headline here opposite Sandhagen — and is just 1-3 over his last four, which means you can be sure the veteran will be dialed in come Saturday.
Jeremiah Wells vs Carlston Harris
Jeremiah Wells and Carlston Harris face off in this battle of 36-year-old welterweights with strong UFC records.
Wells pushed his winning streak to six by collecting a fourth consecutive UFC win over Matthew Semelsberger earlier this year, while Harris bounced back from his loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov with a unanimous decision victory over Jared Gooden in March. A combined 7-1 inside the Octagon with 19 career finishes between them, Wells and Harris should combine for an explosive encounter early on Saturday’s slate.
Cody Durden vs Jake Hadley
Cody Durden steps up to once again try his hand against a rising British prospect as he takes on Jake Hadley in this flyweight fixture.
Durden tags in for Tagir Ulanbekov and has posted a trio of victories since losing to Muhammad Mokaev in the unbeaten rising star’s debut. After losing to veteran Allan Nascimento in his first UFC appearance, Hadley has posted consecutive stoppage wins over Carlos Candelario and Malcolm Gordon to re-establish himself as a promising young name in the 125-pound weight division.
Ode’ Osbourne vs Assu Almabeyev
Veteran Ode’ Osbourne continues to be one of the more active fighters in the flyweight division, as he welcomes newcomer Assu Almabeyev to the Octagon for the first time this weekend.
Saturday marks Osbourne’s sixth appearance in just under two years, having amassed a 4-2 record and earning victories in three of his last four outings. The 29-year-old Almabeyev arrives on a 13-fight winning streak, having earned three victories last year under the Brave CF banner, while sporting a 17-2 record overall.
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