Cory Sandhagen out of UFC on ESPN+ 24 after Frankie Edgar removed

Cory Sandhagen won’t be fighting at UFC on ESPN+ 24, after all.

A UFC bantamweight contender, Sandhagen (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) was the odd man out when originally scheduled opponent Frankie Edgar was removed from the card and booked for this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 23.

Edgar (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) was a fill-in for former UFC featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega, taking a short-notice main event fight against Chan Sung Jung. Despite Edgar accepting, the promotion kept the door open for him to still compete at UFC on ESPN+ 24 just one month later – until now.

Edgar, the former UFC lightweight champ, was finished by “The Korean Zombie” with strikes in the first round, and the damage from the loss subsequently has forced him out of UFC on ESPN+ 24. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Junkie that Edgar is out, and that Sandhagen will not get a replacement. The person asked to remain anonymous since the promotion hasn’t made an official announcement.

MMA DNA was the first to report the news.

Sandhagen, 27, was one of 2019’s rising stars at 135 pounds. The Coloradan went 3-0 on the year, defeating Mario Bautista, John Lineker, and Raphael Assuncao.

UFC on ESPN+ 24 takes place Jan. 25 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. The card streams on ESPN+.

With the change, the current UFC on ESPN+ 24 lineup includes:

• Curtis Blaydes vs. Junior Dos Santos
• Michael Chiesa vs. Rafael dos Anjos
• Tony Gravely vs. Brett Johns
• Hannah Cifers vs. Angela Hill
• Jordan Espinosa vs. Alex Perez
• Lina Lansberg vs. Sara McMann
• Justine Kish vs. Lucie Pudilova
• Arnold Allen vs. Josh Emmett
• Bevon Lewis vs. Dequan Townsend
• Jamahal Hill vs. Darko Stosic
• Felipe Colares vs. Montel Jackson
• Herbert Burns vs. Nate Landwehr