Sandhagen-Nurmagomedov Selected as UFC Nashville Headliner on Aug. 5

Dana White with some BIG fight announcements...

Aug 5: #UFCNashville – Cory Sandhagen vs Umar Nurmagomedov
Aug 26: #UFCSingapore – Max Holloway vs Korean Zombie
Sept 2: #UFCParis – Ciryl Gane vs Sergei Spivak pic.twitter.com/JOEVBX5aIB

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) June 15, 2023

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has formalized its return to Music City on the first weekend of August.

According to the promotion on Thursday, the UFC will be returning to Tennessee on Aug. 5. The fight card, currently an unnumbered Fight Night show due to the uncertainty of its broadcasting destination, will be headlined by a bantamweight barnburner between Cory Sandhagen (16-4) and Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0). This will be the UFC’s first event in Nashville since UFC Fight Night 148 in March 2019, which saw Anthony Pettis take on Stephen Thompson. It will be held inside of the Bridgestone Arena.

Sandhagen is currently riding high after two victorious main events against Yadong Song and Marlon Vera the last few months. This will be Sandhagen’s fifth five-round bout in a row, despite only vying once for the bantamweight title. Before forcing the doctors to intervene to protect Song’s health, Sandhagen had fallen short by decision to former champs T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan.

While Sandhagen is no stranger to the spotlight, this will be the Dagestan native’s first main attraction with the promotion. Nurmagomedov has once engaged in a 25-minute match, where back in 2019 he tapped Braian Gonzalez in the first round to secure the Gorilla Fighting strap. The unbeaten bantamweight introduced himself to the organization in 2021 by putting Sergey Morozov to sleep with a rear-naked choke. Three subsequent wins, including two first-round stoppages, have propelled him into the top 15 of the UFC’s rankings.

The UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 5 will go down at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to the newly announced 135-pound tilt on top, while the lineup has not yet been set, a strawweight pairing between Virna Jandiroba and Tatiana Suarez will likely serve high on the billing. Other key fights on the marquee will likely include a bantamweight bout pitting Said Nurmagomedov against Kyler Phillips and a light heavyweight rumble when Dustin Jacoby faces Kennedy Nzechukwu.