UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen (also known as UFC on ESPN 43) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 25, 2023, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, United States.[2][3]
| UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | March 25, 2023 | |||
| Venue | AT&T Center | |||
| City | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |||
| Attendance | 16,076[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,150,000[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
The event marked the promotion's third visit to San Antonio and first since UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards in July 2019.[2]
A bantamweight bout between Marlon Vera and former interim UFC Bantamweight Championship challenger Cory Sandhagen headlined the event.[4] They were previously expected to headline UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield, but were rescheduled to this event for unknown reasons.[5]
Although it was not announced by the promotion, a rematch between Irene Aldana and former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger Raquel Pennington was originally rumored to headline this event.[6] The pair previously met at UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards, where Pennington won by a split decision.[7] However, the bout never materialized.
Sean Brady and Michel Pereira were expected to meet in a welterweight bout.[8] However, Brady pulled out in mid-February due to a torn groin and the bout was scrapped.[9]
A featherweight bout between Alex Caceres and Nate Landwehr was expected to take place at the event.[10] However, Caceres withdrew due to an undisclosed reason and was replaced by Austin Lingo.[11]
Liang Na and Brogan Walker-Sanchez were expected to meet in a women's flyweight bout.[12] However, Liang pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and Walker-Sanchez was moved to UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes a month later as a replacement against Iasmin Lucindo.[13]
Tamires Vidal was expected to face Hailey Cowan in a women's bantamweight bout at the event.[14] However, Vidal pulled out due to undisclosed medical reasons and the pairing was scrapped.[15]
A lightweight bout between Manuel Torres and Trey Ogden was expected to take place at the event, but it was cancelled the day before due to Torres suffering a medical issue.[16]
Former UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Alex Perez and former Rizin Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape were expected to meet on the main card.[17] However, the pairing was cancelled during the broadcast as Perez suffered a seizure backstage.[18][19]
During the event's broadcast, former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Donald Cerrone was announced as the next "modern wing" UFC Hall of Fame inductee.[20]
Results
| Main card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Bantamweight | Cory Sandhagen | def. | Marlon Vera | Decision (split) (47–48, 50–45, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Holly Holm | def. | Yana Santos | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Nate Landwehr | def. | Austin Lingo | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 4:11 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Maycee Barber | def. | Andrea Lee | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Albert Duraev | def. | Chidi Njokuani | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Daniel Pineda | def. | Tucker Lutz | Submission (guillotine choke) | 2 | 2:50 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Featherweight | Lucas Alexander | def. | Steven Peterson | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Trevin Giles | def. | Preston Parsons | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | C.J. Vergara | def. | Daniel da Silva | TKO (punches) | 2 | 4:04 | |
| Flyweight | Victor Altamirano | def. | Vinicius Salvador | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[22]
- Fight of the Night: C.J. Vergara vs. Daniel da Silva
- Performance of the Night: Nate Landwehr and Daniel Pineda
