Fighters Only : UFC Nashville: Which bantamweight contender will hit the right notes in the Music City?

Simon Head

Aug 04, 2023

Top 10 bantamweights will go head to head in a main event clash with potential championship ramifications in Nashville, Tennessee this weekend.

UFC Nashville will feature a five-round 135-pound contender clash, as Cory Sandhagen takes on Rob Font with big things potentially on the line for the winner.

Sandhagen enters the bout as the higher-ranked man, coming in as the No. 4 bantamweight in the UFC against seventh-ranked Font, who agreed to step in after Umar Nurmagomedov was forced out of the bout earlier this summer. But, despite the fresh new matchup, the two look very closely matched and could produce a classic for the fans in the Music City.

Sandhagen has returned to form following back-to-back losses in the second half of 2021, and has added victories over fellow contenders Song Yadong and Marlon Vera to his resume, while Font has snapped his own two-fight skid with a resounding first-round TKO of Adrian Yanez at UFC 287 in April.

With both men back on form, they'll face off in a bout that will pit two proven finishers head to head. Sandhagen has one of the fastest knockouts in bantamweight history, courtesy of his 28-second flying-knee finish of former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, while Font is the most prolific striker in UFC bantamweight history, with a total of 1,151 significant strikes a UFC record at 135 pounds. Font is also tied for second in the division's all-time knockout list, with six.

It all adds up to a fascinating clash between two of the most entertaining 135ers in the world, with victory for either man likely to propel them into a title eliminator later this year, or early in 2024.

The co-main event features a big fight for the women's strawweight division, as former 115-pound champion Jessica Andrade takes on undefeated contender Tatiana Suarez.

Suarez made her return from a three-and-a-half-year hiatus in February and claimed a second-round submission win over Montana De La Rosa to improve her record to 9-0. Now she has the chance to put herself front and center in the strawweight title discussion with victory over Andrade, who agreed to step in after Suarez's original opponent, Virna Jandiroba, was forced out due to injury.

Andrade has struggled for consistency since losing the strawweight title to Zhang Weili back in August 2019. Since that defeat, the Brazilian has gone 4-4 in the Octagon. But, despite her inconsistent form, Andrade is still a factor in the division, and remains ranked fifth at 115 pounds. It means that victory for Suarez, who is ranked 10th, could catapult her right into the title mix alongside the likes of Yan Xiaonan and Amanda Lemos.

Elsewhere on the fight card, the stakes are high at light heavyweight as Dustin Jacoby looks to snap a two-fight skid against in-form Kennedy Nzechukwu, who heads to Nashville on a three-fight, three-finish, win streak, while lightweight knockout artists Ignacio Bahamondes and Ludovit Klein go head to head in a potentially explosive 155-pound matchup.

Former Cage Warriors flyweight champion Jake Hadley is also in action, with the Englishman looking to earn himself a bout with ranked opposition by defeating American Cody Durden, who harbors similar aims.

The card will also feature the Octagon debut of crowd-pleasing New York featherweight Dennis Buzukja, who takes on Sean Woodson in a preliminary card bout at 145 pounds.