Tag: Diego Sanchez

Fool Me Once, Shame on You: Five UFC Rematches We’d Love to See Happen

Let’s be honest, there weren’t many of us out there biting our nails in anticipation of Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman Part II in the weeks leading up to it, but boy were we wrong. The rematch, which took home Fight of the Night Honors, was a back and forth, blood soaked brawl, and we loved every second of it. So it is in light of their triumph that we present you, Potato Nation, with five rematches, in no particular order, that we can expect to see as soon as Joe Silva starts returning our calls.

5. Carlos Condit vs. Rory Macdonald

Depending on how well Carlos Condit does in his upcoming title fight against GSP, the possibility of seeing these two welterweight brutes tangle again seems pretty high. Both have been on a tear as of late, and the first fight between them was nothing short of extraordinary.

Let’s be honest, there weren’t many of us out there biting our nails in anticipation of Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman Part II in the weeks leading up to it, but boy were we wrong. The rematch, which took home Fight of the Night Honors, was a back and forth, blood soaked brawl, and we loved every second of it. So it is in light of their triumph that we present you, Potato Nation, with five rematches, in no particular order, that we can expect to see as soon as Joe Silva starts returning our calls.

5. Carlos Condit vs. Rory Macdonald

Depending on how well Carlos Condit does in his upcoming title fight against GSP, the possibility of seeing these two welterweight brutes tangle again seems pretty high. Both have been on a tear as of late, and the first fight between them was nothing short of extraordinary.

Macdonald, a relatively unknown at the time, gave the final WEC welterweight champ all he could handle, utilizing a beautiful array of kicks and takedowns to keep Condit off balance for the better part of two rounds. Condit was able to shake off the cobwebs and mount a ground and pound clinic on Macdonald in the third however, finishing him off with just 7 seconds left in the fight. If Condit is able to defeat GSP, and if Rory can get by Brian Ebersole at UFC 140 (and maybe another, higher tier fighter), then we have the makings of one hell of a title fight.

4. Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann 

The main event of the third UFC on Versus, this fight changed the perspective on how much punishment someone could absorb while still walking away the victor. For three rounds, Kampmann brutalized “The Nightmare” “The Dream’s” face with sharp punches, but Sanchez waded through nearly all of them, landing a few nice combinations of his own and scoring a takedown in the third round. “The Hitman” quickly found himself on the losing side of another razor-thin decision, and protested it with the infamous “Look at that dude’s fucking face!” defense, to no avail. Add to that their heated Twitter feud and we’ve got ourselves a full blown grudge match, and we all know how much the UFC loves those. Both guys are facing tough tests in their next fights, Kampmann takes on Rick Story at UFC 139 and Sanchez takes on Jake Ellenberger at UFC 141. When the smoke clears from all that, who honestly wouldn’t want to see these guys go to war again?

3. Forrest Griffin v. Quinton Jackson

Their title fight back at UFC 86 marked the first time a TUF winner would ever don UFC gold, discounting our boy Matt Serra of course, who the world was aware of before his time on The Ultimate Fighter. The decision was controversial, its aftermath even more so. But with 520,000 pay-per-view buy’s the first time around, this rematch could easily boost up a card’s interest level, though maybe as a co-main event this time.

Though “Rampage” seems destined for other venues, there’s no doubt that this is one loss that he would like to erase before his contract expires…in fact, he has been repeatedly begging for it. Griffin, on the other hand, finds himself in an unusual place amongst the UFC’s light heavyweight division. On the heels of knockout loss to Maricio Rua at UFC 134, a win over Jackson would not only validate his original victory, but propel him back up the light heavyweight ranks. If anything, it will be interesting just to see if DW can get Forrest to leave Vegas again.

2. Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson

The first fight, which just recently transpired at UFC 134, was the very definition of a battle between a brawler and a technical striker. Pearson looked about as good as he could in the loss, repeatedly tagging Barboza despite the Brazilian’s reach advantage. Barboza however, was able to land more consistently and with more pizzazz, walking away with the split decision victory in his second consecutive Fight of the Night winning performance.

Though a win in the rematch wouldn’t do much for either fighter in terms of stock value, this is just one of those fights that we simply want to watch again as fans of the sport, regardless of rankings. Some of us weren’t exactly convinced that Barboza deserved the nod, stating Pearson’s constant pressure as a determining factor. And since neither fighter has anything booked at the moment, why not give it another go?

1. Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki 

Ah, the good old days of the WEC. Back in 2009, Miguel Torres was about as close as you could get to an unbeatable fighter. Takeya Mizugaki was an unknown Shooto vet with a penchant for brawling, and my God what a brawl this turned into. In a fight that was nominated across the forum world for fight of the year, Torres and Mizugaki stood toe-to-toe for 25 minutes and threw down, with each fighter not letting a strike go unanswered.

Coming off a second round TKO of Cole Escovedo at UFC 135, Mizugaki arguably has the momentum in his favor this time around, as Torres will be trying to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Demetrious Johnson against Nick Pace at UFC 139. If he can best Pace, then this rematch would make all the more sense in terms of the bantamweight picture. If not, then this fight would still be a nice addition to any card in need of fireworks.

-Danga 

What say you, Potato Nation? Are there any other rematches that you are currently blowing up DW’s Twitter with requests for? Let us know in the comments section.

Report: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger in the Works for UFC 141


(“What is he doing with his face? Is that supposed to intimidate me?”)

According to a report by MMAMatrix.com, a welterweight match-up between Jake Ellenberger and Diego Sanchez is in the works for UFC 141 December 30 in Las Vegas.

Ellenberger leapfrogged to the front of the line of UFC welterweight contenders with his first-round knockout of Jake Shields at UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger two weeks ago. As such, it’s likely that the winner of the bout, if it happens, will be second in line behind Nick Diaz to face the winner of the UFC 137 showdown between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit on October 29.


(“What is he doing with his face? Is that supposed to intimidate me?”)

According to a report by MMAMatrix.com, a welterweight match-up between Jake Ellenberger and Diego Sanchez is in the works for UFC 141 December 30 in Las Vegas.

Ellenberger leapfrogged to the front of the line of UFC welterweight contenders with his first-round knockout of Jake Shields at UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger two weeks ago. As such, it’s likely that the winner of the bout, if it happens, will be second in line behind Nick Diaz to face the winner of the UFC 137 showdown between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit on October 29.

Sanchez bypassing the queue is a bit a bit of a head-scratcher though, considering he is 2-1 since returning to the UFC’s 170-pound class with decisions in both fights, and was supposed to fight Matt Hughes in his last bout at UFC 135 before getting injured and pulling out. But it isn’t a total surprise since UFC president Dana White seems to have a soft spot for the TUF 1 finalists. How else do you explain Kenny Florian getting more title shots than any fighter on the UFC’s roster in spite of him having lost every championship bout he’s fought in, other than blackmail?

Ellenberger shrugged off the news of the bout when asked today on Twitter, but it wouldn’t be the first time a fighter denied a fight was happening only to have the UFC announce the pairing down the road.

———-

UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem
December 30, 2011
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada

Alistair Overeem vs. Brock Lesnar
Vitor Belfort vs. TBD
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger
Johny Hendricks vs. Jon Fitch
Sam Stout vs. TBD

In Last Fight of UFC Contract, Matt Hughes Says Outcome ‘Won’t Really Matter’

Filed under: UFCWhen Matt Hughes steps into the Octagon against Josh Koscheck at UFC 135, it will be the 25th fight of his UFC career and the last on his current contract. The former champ turns 38 this October, and he’s not sure what his future holds….

Filed under:

Matt HughesWhen Matt Hughes steps into the Octagon against Josh Koscheck at UFC 135, it will be the 25th fight of his UFC career and the last on his current contract. The former champ turns 38 this October, and he’s not sure what his future holds.

“My wife tells me I’m done fighting,” Hughes told reporters on Monday’s media call. “She wanted me to quit after the B.J. [Penn] fight. But we’ll just see. We’ll just see what I feel like and what the UFC wants to do.”

If you’re the UFC, a lot might depend on how Hughes looks against Koscheck. It’s a pairing that Hughes wasn’t eager to accept back when Koscheck and the other welterweights from the AKA squad lobbied for it a couple years ago. But after Diego Sanchez pulled out of the September 24 bout due to a broken hand, Hughes thought he might end up without any opponent at all in Denver.

“The first thing that went through my mind was, here I’ve been training for quite a while and expecting to fight on this card and now it’s not going to happen. It was kind of confusing when [UFC president Dana White] called me,” said Hughes, who added that he was first told he might be fighting another AKA 170-pounder, Jon Fitch.

That was the last he heard before boarding a flight, Hughes said. By the time he landed, he found out the UFC wanted him to face Koscheck instead.

“Really, it’s Dana’s call,” he said. “It’s not even my call to decide who it’s going to be. So I said, yeah, whoever you want.”

Coming off his knockout loss to Penn at UFC 123, Hughes had no problem with a considerable layoff between fights. Having ten months to train more casually and pursue other interests “is fine with me,” he explained.

But as he approaches the final fight of his contract, it’s difficult to tell what kind of future Hughes might have inside the Octagon. It seems unlikely that he’ll ever again find himself as a top contender for the UFC welterweight title, and he’s already secured his legacy as one of the most dominant UFC champions and a member of the organization’s Hall of Fame.

At this point, what’s driving him to keep getting in the cage with younger opponents who are still trying to make their name in the sport?

“It’s competition,” Hughes said. “I think that’s what drives your top athletes in the UFC, getting in there against one other person and mixing it up. I don’t have to rely on four other basketball teammates to score a basket or anything. I just have to rely on myself. The fact that it’s just me and one other person competing in there, that’s my drive right there.”

According to many oddsmakers, Koscheck is somewhere in the neighborhood of a 5-1 favorite to beat Hughes on Saturday night. If they’re right, you have to wonder where that will leave the former champ.

With two consecutive losses in his late-30s, a new contract for Hughes would seem like little more than an insurance policy to keep him from taking his talents outside the organization. With an upset victory over a top welterweight like Koscheck, however, it might only get harder for Hughes to convince himself that it’s time to walk away.

But if his immediate future with the UFC really is riding on this fight, don’t tell Hughes. He insists it doesn’t matter, as if winning and losing in the final fight of your contract both lead to the same end. And, when you’re in Hughes’ position, maybe they do.

“This is the last fight on my contract, so the outcome of this fight won’t really matter, to be honest,” he said. “After this fight — win or lose, doesn’t matter — I’ll talk to the UFC and we’ll figure out what we want to do.”

If things don’t go Hughes’ way in Denver, it could be one more decision that is ultimately Dana White’s call.

 

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Josh Koscheck Talks Matt Hughes: ‘Fans Deserved This Fight a Long Time Ago’

Filed under: UFCWhen Josh Koscheck first heard that there might be an opportunity to finally get a fight with former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes after he’d long since given up lobbying for it, he didn’t have to think too hard about his answer.

…

Filed under:

When Josh Koscheck first heard that there might be an opportunity to finally get a fight with former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes after he’d long since given up lobbying for it, he didn’t have to think too hard about his answer.

“Diego Sanchez broke his hand and I eventually got a phone call from [manager] ‘Crazy’ Bob Cook and he’s like, ‘Hey, you want to fight Matt Hughes?'” Koscheck said on Monday’s UFC 135 media call. “I didn’t even hesitate. I was like, when are we fighting him?”


What Koscheck didn’t realize, he said, was that this was a late replacement fight. He’d been “so out of the loop” after coming back from a long layoff following an eye injury he suffered against Georges St-Pierre that he didn’t realize Hughes was supposed to fight Sanchez on September 24 in Denver, so he wasn’t expecting to hear Cook tell him that the bout was just three weeks away.

But, Koscheck said, he’d taken enough time off already. For the man who considers himself “always two or three weeks away from being ready to fight,” it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“I was like, yep, let’s do it,” Koscheck said. “I’m in shape, let’s go. I didn’t hesitate to take the fight.”

Koscheck hasn’t set foot in the Octagon since losing a unanimous decision to St-Pierre in their five-round title fight at UFC 124. He suffered a broken orbital bone in that fight, thanks to an early jab from GSP, and the pain was even worse than when he’d accidentally severed his own toe at four years of age while “doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing with a hatchet,” Koscheck said.

The pain of that experience “didn’t compare to the eye injury,” according to Koscheck, who added that he “got through it via pain pills and morphine that night.”

“It was a fun experience, needless to say, that I don’t want to go through ever again,” he quipped.

That was a little over nine months ago, but Koscheck could have come back sooner, he said. He took a little extra time off to “focus on some other areas outside of fighting,” and was planning to return at UFC 139 in San Jose, possibly at middleweight in a rematch with Chris Leben or even a bout against recent Leben knockout victim Wanderlei Silva.

“I was just looking for a big fight, and things happen for a reason,” he said. “I texted Dana White the day of all the confusion with Diego breaking his hand and I said hey, it’s your favorite son, Kos. Make sure I get that fight with Matt Hughes.”

White did just that, apparently. After Hughes agreed to it, the fight that Koscheck had given up on was finally his, albeit after a long layoff from the sport and a short training camp to prepare.

If the timing is of any concern to Koscheck, however, you sure wouldn’t know it.

“Fighting Matt Hughes is a good comeback fight for me,” he said. “I think the fans deserved this fight a long time ago, and now we’re getting the opportunity to do it.”

Better late than never, perhaps. And after what he went through following the GSP fight — not to mention the vague horror of the hatchet incident — how much can there really be left for him to fear?

 

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UFC 135: Diego Sanchez talks to B/R About God, Marriage and GSP-Condit

No one has ever doubted the talent or heart of UFC Welterweight contender Diego Sanchez. He burst onto the UFC scene as the eccentric, undersized middleweight on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter. It was very apparent back then that the only thing that …

No one has ever doubted the talent or heart of UFC Welterweight contender Diego Sanchez. He burst onto the UFC scene as the eccentric, undersized middleweight on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter. It was very apparent back then that the only thing that could hold Sanchez back was Sanchez himself.

To say he was a little off would be putting it mildly. Upon closer inspection however, fans began to see a deeply religious man who had a true passion for the sport. Diego quickly wowed us with his talent, storming through the tournament on his way to defeating Kenny Florian in The Ultimate Fighter Finale, earning himself the six figure contract.

He had a perfect 11-0 record before trying out for The Ultimate Fighter and had just defeated Jorge Santiago for the King of the Cage Welterweight Championship in his last bout outside of the UFC. The sky was the limit for the Greg Jackson trained fighter who immediately made the drop to a more natural 170lbs shortly after defeating Florian.

He would go on to run his record to a perfect 17-0 before suffering back-to-back losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch. In actuality, the trouble began after defeating Joe Riggs in December of 2006 as he tested positive for marijuana and was suspended for three months. He also suffered a huge scare when it was thought that he had contracted Hepatitis C before his bout with Koscheck. Thankfully, it was only a severe staph infection, but it certainly hindered his performance against his former housemate.

He then dropped down to lightweight and moved to San Diego where he would train with Saulo and Xande Ribeiro. He left the Jackson camp due to the arrival of welterweight stalwart Georges St. Pierre. The drop down to 155lbs wasn’t all bad as he defeated Joey Stevenson and Clay Guida to earn a shot at B.J. Penn’s lightweight title at UFC 107. Sanchez was beaten to a pulp until the bout was halted in the fifth round due to a huge cut on his forehead. Sanchez once again decided to change weight classes, this time moving back up to welterweight.

The Diego Sanchez that fights today is not very similar to the Diego Sanchez who first came to the UFC in 2005. He has begun to make the right decisions based upon what is best for his career rather than based on his emotions. For one, he has found his way back to the Jackson camp and has changed his nickname from the “Nightmare” to the “Dream.” At 29-years-old, he is in his physical prime and knows what he has to do to make the climb towards welterweight supremacy.

“It’s been a long road for me, with a lot of ups and downs,” Sanchez told Bleacher Report. “Thankfully there have been more ups than there have been downs. For me, what brings me down has only made me stronger because of it.”

Sanchez has never tried to hide the fact that he had a deep faith in God and displays that during his entrance to the Octagon as well as in his post-fight interviews. People who are that strong spiritually truly believe that all their blessings are due to their faith in God. It is a powerful ally to have on your side and Sanchez is truly grateful for the opportunity to live out his dream

“I’m 29-years-old, I just got married,” said Sanchez. “I have totally changed my lifestyle from where I was always going out and partying and living the life of a bachelor. That didn’t get me where I wanted to be, I found a great woman, and God blessed me with an amazing woman. I totally changed my life and rededicated it to Jesus Christ. This time I am not just talking the talk, but I am also walking the walk. I live for God and my family.”

Making his way back to Greg Jackson was probably the third best decision Sanchez made behind marrying his wife and putting his life back into the hands of Jesus Christ. No matter whom his opponent may be, Sanchez knows that he will be able to find the appropriate training partners at Jackson’s camp. He knows the talent is so deep that if he can survive practice, then he can survive anyone the UFC puts in front of him.

“I am in the best training camp with the best training partners,” offered Sanchez. “I’m actually hanging out with Jon Jones right now; we spar every Tuesday and Thursday. He may fight two weight classes higher than I do, but we get our rounds in. I have the most amazing training camp and coaches. I know if I come in healthy and dedicated, I have a great team willing to do whatever is necessary to make me a better fighter.

Coming back to Jackson was my destiny. I had hit a real low and God humbled me. I had to come back home to my family, New Mexico and to where the people who truly love me were at. Greg had always had an open door for me and as soon as I came back Greg was waiting for me with a great big old hug and said to me it’s about time, it’s about time.

I love being here, the energy, the culture, the mountains, the lightning storms, I love it all. I want to show my fans what happens when you are focused and what God will do for you if you are walking the narrow path.”

Although Sanchez will no longer be fighting Matt Hughes this coming Saturday, he still had some nice things to say about the nine-time UFC Welterweight Champion. Sanchez understands just what Hughes has meant to the UFC and the sport as a whole. That being said, don’t mistake Sanchez’s respect for anything other than that, in his mind he is capable of beating Hughes at anytime.

“I have a ton of respect for Matt,” Sanchez pointed out. “He is a very blessed and naturally gifted fighter. I feel in my heart that I am more of a warrior than Hughes. I have more fight inside of me and I feel as though I have what it takes to have a dominant win over him.”

Sanchez has won his last two fights against Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann, earning a Fight of the Night bonus in both of them. When he entered the Octagon against Kampmann, he did not look like the Diego Sanchez we had become accustomed to seeing fight over the years. He was bloated and even had love handles that exceeded over his shorts.

“I was thankful for the fight with Kampmann,” Sanchez said excitedly. “I was thankful for the cuts, I was thankful because I found something inside of my heart that I knew was there, but I had never tapped into it. I found this warrior’s spirit, an old school warrior within me. I was prepared to put it all on the line, I didn’t care that I was bleeding out of five different places on my face, I didn’t care.

I had no worry about him knocking me out. All I had on my mind was that I was gunning for him and I was going to take him out. A switch went off in my head and I learned how to fight differently. I was able to tap into a different part of me. For the longest time I would only focus on either BJJ [Brazilian Jiu Jitsu] or wrestling. Now I train full mixed martial arts.”

Two of the fighters who train with Greg Jackson are current UFC No. 1 Welterweight contender Carlos Condit and the man he will face at UFC 137 for his title, Georges St. Pierre. The old Sanchez may have had a problem sharing a camp with two other top welterweights, but today he realizes the advantages that come along with having such a solid stable of fighters.

“I am the smallest guy there,” said Sanchez. “I fight every single day with nothing but middleweights, light heavyweights and heavyweights. Some of these training sessions have become legendary. It’s basically ‘Diego & Goliath’ when I am in there fighting these guys who are much bigger than I am. I go in there and fight with all my heart; it makes me stronger and much more confident.”

Although Sanchez sees having other top fighters in his division as a benefit, there has to be some thought in the back of his mind that he may have to do battle with one of them in the future. As we have seen with Jones and Rashad Evans, fighting a teammate doesn’t always have a happy ending.

“Let me clear this up real quick. GSP is not a part of my team, he is a part of Tri-Star,” Sanchez said clearly. “Greg is more of an adviser to GSP; he may be here one week out of the year. When he’s here, he doesn’t train with me or Condit. Greg has come up with a game plan should teammates have to fight one another.

We will split training partners and take it from there. Carlos and I have said we will cross that bridge when we come to it. There are too many good fighters at 170 that I have yet to fight. I would like rematches with Fitch and Koscheck. It’s all in the hands of the UFC, they are going to make matches that sell. I wish nothing but the best for Carlos, if we have to fight then so be it, but that’s a long way off right now.”

There is one thing that Sanchez really has his mind on and that’s to be a coach on The Ultimate Fighter. He had lobbied the UFC for a spot opposite Nick Diaz before they made the GSP-Diaz fight. Sanchez and Diaz have a history together, which led to Sanchez defeating Diaz by unanimous decision back in November of 2005. There truly is no love lost between the two.

“I was the original Ultimate Fighter,” Sanchez said proudly. “I want it, I was the first one to win it and I have given the UFC so many great fights. I had three fights that were in the top-12 all time fights and that doesn’t include the Kampmann fight which could be Fight of the Year this year. I feel as though I have paid my dues with Zuffa. I know Diaz very well and we do have a history together. We would have great energy as coaches. We have had some beef, but we would go in there and let it all hang out.

I have a total trust in God. I want to continue to get better and continue to train. I want to stay in the dream and try and get my body weight up so I won’t be at such a disadvantage when I fight these monster welterweights that are out there. I am gaining a lot of strength by fighting against guys who are bigger than I am in the gym.

I have two great wrestling partners in Derrick Brooks and Willie Parks, these guys are national champions and have helped me grow as a fighter in so many ways. I may be getting a little older, but I am 29-years-old and in my prime. I got my head screwed on right and am back where I belong with Greg Jackson, at home in New Mexico.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 25 Results: 5 Fights to Get Jake Shields Back on Track

Jake Shields has had a terrible past few weeks.His father and manager sadly passed away on Aug. 29, and he was stopped for the first time in his career.  Clearly he needs to regroup before he steps back into the octagon to try to bring his UFC rec…

Jake Shields has had a terrible past few weeks.

His father and manager sadly passed away on Aug. 29, and he was stopped for the first time in his career.  Clearly he needs to regroup before he steps back into the octagon to try to bring his UFC record back to .500.  

When the time comes to step back in the cage, Shields will most likely be demoted to fighting on the main card, much to his dismay.  He will also be demoted to fighting middle of the pack welterweights in an effort to prove that he is worthy to fight another title contender.  

Who will show up in the next fight?  Shields the Strikeforce champion welterweight, or the Shields that can’t deal with strong stand-up?  Here are some matchups that may be able to help figure that out…

Begin Slideshow