Sandhagen says he tore tricep in 1st round of Font win

Cory Sandhagen was significantly impaired during most of his fight against Rob Font.

The UFC bantamweight contender said Monday he suffered a "fully torn tricep" in the first round of his unanimous decision win over Font in Saturday's UFC Nashville main event.

"Wasn't able to punch or elbow with that arm without pain and it feeling like shit," Sandhagen wrote in an Instagram post. "Did what I had to do to win that night."

Sandhagen said he is set to undergo surgery this week to repair the injury. It's unclear how long he'll be sidelined.

The 31-year-old received heavy criticism from the MMA community for his performance. He relied on his grappling to secure a lopsided - but lackluster - victory; he was successful on all seven takedown attempts. Sandhagen and Font combined for just 43 significant strikes, one of the lowest marks in a 25-minute bout in modern UFC history.

Sandhagen, the No. 4-ranked bantamweight, has now won three in a row. After defeating Font, he called for a title shot against the winner of the fight between bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley, which headlines UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston.