UPDATE: 12:14 p.m. Eastern Time
UFC President Dana White just confirmed that Joe Lauzon vs. Diego Sanchez is official for UFC 180.
–End of Update–
The original Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez doesn’t appear to have difficulty finding a dance partner for UFC 180 on November 15.
After surging featherweight contender Conor McGregor claimed he was fighting “The Nightmare” in Mexico, UFC President Dana White insisted it wasn’t actually happening (h/t ESPN’s Brett Okamoto).
However when “Stormin'” Norman Parke revealed an ACL injury would force him out of his scheduled matchup with Sanchez, it was clear a replacement would be needed.
According to UFC veteran Joe Lazuon, that void has already been filled.
The immensely entertaining submission specialist posted on Instagram this morning with the caption “What have I done?!”, with the sceencap indicating the fight with Sanchez was done.
After two tough decision losses to Jim Miller and Michael Johnson, “J-Lau” is riding a two-fight win streak where he outclassed Mac Danzig and won a gritty battle with Michael Chiesa.
Meanwhile, Sanchez is also 2-2 in his past four Octagon outings, losing one-sided contests to Gilbert Melendez and Myles Jury and winning decisions over Takanori Gomi and Ross Pearson.
While the victory over Gomi from UFC on FUEL 8 last March was debatable, his split decision over “The Real Deal” is generally regarded as one of the worst decisions in MMA history as Pearson landed crisper, harder shots throughout the duration of the bout.
Sanchez is 4-3 in his past seven contests, but hasn’t notched a decisive victory since dominating Paulo Thiago in a welterweight scrap at UFC 121 in October 2010.
While he has arguably slowed down in his recent fights, Sanchez is still known for his entertaining, aggressive style, so Lauzon – the UFC’s all-time leader in post-fight bonuses (13) – is a perfect opponent for him on paper.
UFC 180 takes place at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City and Sanchez is currently slated to compete on the main card.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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