This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Nashville, we saw a catchweight bout between two of the best bantamweight contenders in the world. Cory “The Sandman” Sandhagen (17-4) took on Rob Font (20-7). Originally, it was supposed to be Sandhagen against Umar Nurmagomedov.
However, when Nurmagomedov pulled out of the fight, Rob Font stepped in on short notice. Sandhagen and Font are two of the more entertaining fighters in the division so many were expecting an action-packed fight. However, that was the furthest thing from what we saw on Saturday night.
The first round was filled with a bunch of entertaining grappling as Sandhagen continuously went to his wrestling, but Font was able to force a ton of scrambles. However, starting in the second round, Font was unable to force those type of scrambles.
What followed was four rounds of Sandhagen continuously just taking the fight to the ground while doing little damage. The crowd booed constantly and Dana White walked out before the UFC Nashville main event ended. Sandhagen won the decision but it felt like nobody really won.
Is a UFC title shot next?
After the fight was over, Sandhagen took to the mic and stated that he wanted the next title shot. He also talked about the fact that he had an elbow injury which hindered his performance. Well, I hate to break it to Sandhagen, but I think I have a better chance of getting the next title shot at 135.
There’s no way the UFC gives Sandhagen a title shot after that performance. Instead, I think they’ll just look to rebook Sandhagen against Umar Nurmagomedov. Not insanely fair to the guy who apparently fought through an elbow injury to keep the show together for the fans, but the promotion is all about exciting performances heading into a title shot.
Nobody who watched Saturday night is begging to watch Sandhagen in a title fight right now and unfortunately, I think that outweighs everything else. Time will tell though, he could get the title shot if everything falls into place perfectly for him. However, I still find it highly doubtful.
More must-reads: