August 5th UFC Event in Nashville?

UFC Returns to Nashville After Four Years?

I asked Dana about Sandhagen vs. Umar in Nashville and Holloway vs. TKZ in Singapore but all I got was a smile and a "do you want to see that fight"

— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) June 4, 2023

Alex Behunin of MMA Mania asked White, "[Is] an event going to Nashville, is that in the works?" White answered, "We’re talking about Nashville, yeah." Behunin then followed up with another question, "Is there a chance that Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov headlines that." White then cryptically responded, "Did we announce that? I don’t know, is that what you want?" White said while smiling.

Nurmagomedov has been desperately trying to get a bout scheduled against a top-ranked fighter in the bantamweight division. It seems that the August 5th event rumored to be in Nashville is still without a main event and Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov has all the makings to be a huge bout for the bantamweight division. Sandhagen (16-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) is riding a two-fight win streak and last competed at UFC on ESPN 43 in March, earlier this year. Sandhagen defeated Marlon Vera via. Split Decision. Sandhagen is certainly no stranger to fighting in the Main Event. If the rumors hold, this would be Sandhagen’s fifth scheduled main event spot and third consecutively. It would also be Sandhagen’s sixth scheduled five-round fight as he fought to a Unanimous Decision loss against Petr Yan in the Co-Main event spot on UFC 267 for the Interim Bantamweight title beside his four main event spots. Out of Sandhagen’s 16 wins, seven have come by way of KO/TKO and three by submission.

Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on the other hand has made quick work of the UFC’s Bantamweight division thus far as he’s quickly strung together four wins since his debut in January of 2021. His wins have come against Sergey Morozov, Brian Kelleher, Nate Maness, and most recently Raoni Barcelos via. first-round KO in January of this year. Nurmagomedov has yet to compete in a main event spot or a five-round contest. The Dagestan native has two KO/TKO wins and seven submission wins across his 16 total wins.

The current August 5th card that is expected to take place in Nashville via. Tapology can be seen below, keep in mind the card is subject to change as fights can fall through and be added.

• Light Heavyweight Bout: Dustin Jacoby vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
• Strawweight Bout: Virna Jandiroba vs. Tatiana Suarez
• Featherweight Bout: Billy Quarantillo vs. Damon Jackson
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Ovince St. Preux vs. Ion Cutelaba
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Tanner Boser vs. Aleksa Camur
• Bantamweight Bout: Said Nurmagomedov vs. Kyler Phillips
• Flyweight Bout: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Jake Hadley
• Bantamweight Bout: Ode Osbourne vs. Asu Almabaev
• Lightweight Bout: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. L"udovit Klein