Tomorrow night at UFC Nashville, we are going to see a banger of a main event in the bantamweight division. Former interim title challenger Cory “The Sandman” Sandhagen (16-4) is back as he’s taking on Rob Font (20-6). Originally, Sandhagen was supposed to face Umar Nurmagomedov.
However, Nurmagomedov had to pull out of the fight and Font stepped in. Because of the short notice nature, the two top bantamweights are competing at a catchweight of 140 pounds tomorrow night. Both of them successfully made weight this morning so the fight is official.
Sandhagen enters the octagon riding a two-fight winning streak. After falling short to Petr Yan for the interim title which was his second straight loss, Sandhagen has really turned things around. A dominant finish over Song Yadong and a one-sided decision win over Chito Vera has him right back in the title picture.
Rob Font is looking to get back into the title picture as well. Font had won four straight which earned him a shot against Jose Aldo in December 2021. He was dominated in that fight and then was dominated by Chito Vera. However, after taking a year off, he stopped Adrian Yanez in the first round and now he’s looking to make another statement at UFC Nashville.
UFC Nashville Prediction
Rob Font has some of the best pure boxing in the division. There’s no secret about that and he also has a very solid kicking game. However, in terms of a wide variety of attacks, Sandhagen has the advantage there. Sandhagen is very creative and will literally throw everything but the kitchen sink at you during a fight.
Flying knees, spinning elbows, you name it. Font was training for a three-round fight against Song Yadong at UFC 292 in a couple of weeks. While the five-round main event is short-notice, I’m not as worried about his cardio as I would be other fighters. Not having to cut that additional weight is also a big help.
I do see a world where Font lands a ton of big shots down the middle on Sandhagen or catches him off balance at times. However, I think there’s just going to be too much coming from Sandhagen at UFC Nashville for Font to ever get a ton of momentum. I think you’re in for a war tomorrow night, but Sandhagen is always going to be one step ahead.
Prediction: Cory Sandhagen by Decision