UFC Nashville: Cory Sandhagen in search of new opponent after Umar Nurmagomedov pulls out

Umar Nurmagomedov is reportedly out of his August 5 bout against Cory Sandhagen.

On August 19, Aljamain Sterling looks to defend his UFC bantamweight title for one last time before moving to featherweight. Two weeks prior, Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov were expected to headline a UFC Fight Night event in Nashville to potentially determine the next 135-pound title challenger.

Unfortunately, the highly-anticipated matchup has fallen through after Nurmagomedov pulled out for undisclosed reasons. The Schmo broke the news on Twitter by saying:

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

Sandhagen is the number four-ranked UFC bantamweight. With a win against Nurmagomedov, he could’ve possibly earned the next title shot, considering the only fighters ranked ahead of him are either injured (Merab Dvalishvili), coming off a loss/injured (Henry Cejudo) or scheduled for a championship bout (Sean O’Malley).

The 31-year-old American is coming off a split-decision win against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, extending his winning streak to two. He will now have to wait to see if the UFC can find him a worthy opponent for August 5.

Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov is widely considered a future UFC bantamweight title challenger. The eleven-ranked Russian has dominated since signing with the UFC, winning four consecutive bouts, including three inside the distance. He last fought on January 14, defeating Raoni Barcelos with a first-round knockout.

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Who could be Cory Sandhagen’s replacement opponent for August 5?

Cory Sandhagen’s primary issue is that most of the ranked UFC bantamweight fighters have a fight booked or fought within the last three months. Therefore, number fifteen-ranked Jonathan Martinez is an option, but it’s unclear if Sandhagen is willing to fight someone out of the top ten who doesn’t have name value like Umar Nurmagomedov.

With that said, there is a ranked bantamweight who hasn’t fought in the last few months. Dominick Cruz is coming off a fourth-round knockout loss against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in August 2022. If the former UFC champion wants to quickly put himself back in the title picture, a short-notice win against Sandhagen could change everything.

Only time will tell if Cruz or another fighter is interested in a short-notice fight against Sandhagen.