In his quest to prove he still has something left, Diego Sanchez is going home.
The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner will fight in his hometown of Albuquerque on June 7, where he will meet Ross Pearson in a lightweight fight at a UFC Fight Night card at the Tingley Coliseum. The Albuquerque Journal broke the news Friday.
The popular Sanchez (24-7) has dropped two straight fights and three of his past four. The Jackson’s MMA fighter looked sluggish in a unanimous decision loss to unbeaten Myles Jury at UFC 171, then made headlines afterwards by blaming his loss on food poisoning.
Pearson (15-6), meanwhile, was last seen in an odd no-contest against Melvin Guillard in Britain in October. Person and Guillard were expected to rematch last month, but a knee injury forced Pearson out of the bout, as Michael Johnson took the spot and defeated Guillard.
Sanchez, a seven-time UFC postfight bonus winner, is the third Jackson’s fighter announced for the New Mexico card. Rustam Khabilov meets Ben Henderson in the main event; and John Dodson will take on John Moraga in a battle of former flyweight title challengers.
The bout will mark Sanchez’s first in his hometown since a 2004 King of the Cage win over Ray Elbe.