Diego “The Vision” Sanchez (23-5), with his dream of a second shot at a UFC title dimming more with his recent loss to Jake Ellenberger, still proves to be indispensable as far as fighting inside the Octagon is concerned.
After making history as the very first winner of the The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) series by beating Kenny Florian, the fighter from Albuquerque, New Mexico has now lost three of his last five fights, starting with the failed attempt to wrest the UFC lightweight title from B.J. Penn in UFC 107 on December 12, 2009.
Some fans believe that Sanchez is slowly sliding down to journeyman and gatekeeper status; some argue he has already assumed those roles for quite some time now.
Still, regardless of how one perceives Sanchez’s present standing in the UFC, the fact that he’s earned consecutive Fight of the Night honors in his last three fights is more than enough to prove his worth as an MMA fighter.
He has now proudly banked five Fight of the Night bonuses and two Fight of the Year honors in his entire UFC career. (His first Fight of the Year was a decision win over Karo Parisyan, the second being another decision win against Clay Guida.)
In his last three Fights of the Night, Sanchez first dominated Paulo Thiago en route to a unanimous decision win on UFC 121, highlighted by that powerful double-leg lift-run-and-slam he executed with a loud, primal scream.
The second was the controversial decision win over Martin Kampmann in the UFC Live that they headlined; controversial, maybe, but there was no doubt it was an exciting slam-bang collision.
The third was none other than his recent UFC on Fuel TV main-eventer with Jake Ellenberger, in which he lost but finished strong, mounting and pounding on Ellenberger as the third and last round came to its end. (Heck, even Nick “The Herbal” Diaz thought Sanchez should have been the rightful decision winner.)
Diaz, the man Sanchez beat eons ago, may have overtaken the TUF’s first season winner in the UFC welterweight title contention picture, but the many-time Fight of the Night awardee is still main event material.
The Vision’s vision of a title shot has blurred some more, but he remains a rude welcome party for the up-and-comers, and a valid litmus test for those closing in on a lightweight or welterweight title. This is the quality service he just provided for Ellenberger.
Line them all up and toughen them some more through the Diego Sanchez crucible.
Who knows? His title shot may now be a longer shot, but he still might get and win it, most probably at lightweight.
Sanchez brings it on every time, and I’d rather watch him lose than bear seeing other fighters win.
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