Report | Umar Nurmagomedov forced out of UFC Nashville main event against Cory Sandhagen

UFC Nashville has taken a hit as Umar Nurmagomedov is reportedly out of his main event fight against Cory Sandhagen.

According to The Schmozone podcast, Nurmagomedov is out of the scrap and the UFC is now looking for a replacement to fight Sandhagen on short notice. UFC Nashville is set to go down on Saturday, August 5 which is just over two weeks ago, so whether or not the UFC will be able to find a short-notice opponent is uncertain.

BREAKING 🚨: Per sources, UFC is looking for replacement opponent for Cory Sandhagen on August 5 #UFCNashville

— The Schmozone (@TheSchmozone) July 19, 2023

Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Cory Sandhagen was a fight many fans were looking forward to as it was likely going to be a title eliminator fight. As well, it would be the first time Nurmagomedov was fighting a ranked opponent and Sandhagen was equally excited to test his skills as the undefeated fighter.

Sandhagen-Nurmagomedov off

“Yo, what’s up guys. Hey, I know you guys saw the announcement. I’m fighting August 5 against Umar Nurmagomedov. I’m getting a lot of haters, saying, ‘why would you fight this far down in the rankings?’ He’s going to beat my ass, blah, blah, blah. Two reasons,” Cory Sandhagen said in his Instagram video about fighting Umar Nurmagomedov. “One, Umar is a great fighter and I’m not trying to be world champ if I’m not the actual best in the entire world. So fighting Umar is a great challenge and I accept it. And No. 2? Because I’m a beast b***h. That’s why. Peace, I’ll see you guys in Nashville. Yippi-ki-yay motherf****r.”

Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0) was coming off a first-round KO over Raoni Barcelos back in January to improve to 4-0 in the UFC. Inside the Octagon, Nurmagomedov has also beaten Nate Maness by decision, Brian Kelleher by first-round submission, and Sergey Morozov by second-round submission.

Cory Sandhagen (16-4) is riding a two-fight wins streak and coming off a decision win over Marlon Vera. Prior to that, he beat Song Yadong by doctor’s stoppage to get back into the win column after losing back-to-back fights to Petr Yan for the interim title and TJ Dillashaw.