UFC welterweight Jon Fitch (14-2) has been contacted about the possibility of fighting Diego Sanchez (17-1) at UFC 76 on September 22 in Anaheim, Calif., according to the Ft. Wayne, Indiana, native.
UFCmania finally tracked Fitch down yesterday afternoon after learning that his cell phone is broken — apologies for the delay. Numerous readers sent me emails and left posts trying to determine if the bout was indeed legit after news of the match up emerged late last week.
“There’s nothing on paper yet, we’re just in early discussions,” said Fitch. “I won’t know for sure until I receive a bout agreement. However, I’m hoping this fight happens.
“I think it will,” he added.
Fitch is fresh off a submission win over Roan Carneiro at UFC Fight Night 10 in June, extending his unbeaten streak inside the Octagon to six. The former Purdue University wrestling captain is also riding a 13-fight win streak.
In fact, he hasn’t dropped a bout since 2002.
Sanchez, on the other hand, will look to rebound from his first career loss to Fitch’s training partner at the American Kickboxing Academy, Josh Koscheck, at UFC 69 in April. The season one middleweight winner from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is also recovering from a severe staph infection, which may or may not have hampered him during the Koscheck bout.
Regardless, this would be the most high-profile fight for Fitch, who up until this point has flown under the radar despite his remarkable achievements. There’s no doubt Sanchez is looking for redemption, while Fitch will attempt to elevate his status to a larger audience with a win over the popular and well-known “Nightmare.”
For those who have been following this story, Fitch has mentioned numerous times that he wanted to face Karo Parisyan. There’s no word yet on the reason he wasn’t offered that bout — it seems like the UFC has other plans for the Armenian-born Judo fighter.
Rest assured, however, Fitch is extremely pleased with this opportunity if it comes about. And I’m pretty sure most fans will be, too.
Fitch is headed out to Japan tomorrow for a week. He’s cornering Katsuhiko Nagata at the upcoming HERO’s 154-pound tournament at Yokohama Arena on July 16.
Hopefully, when he returns we’ll have an update on whether or not both he and Sanchez are offered bout agreements for UFC 76 and sign them, thus making this dynamite 170-pound clash official.
Stay tuned.
62 Comments »
Jon Fitch, is goign to show why he is worthy of stepping into the octagon, and with the UFC 76 card not being the greatest, Fitch should be in the main-event and he should win.
Lets do this Fitch!
What happened to Diego vs Sakurai?? I thought that that fight was all set, and they even showed Sakurai sitting ring side last week.
Diego via Dirty Sanchez to Fitch’s uppper lip in the 2nd round.
Diego better bring his A game, cause if he just dances around like against Kos, he will lose again, and probably worse, Fitch might actually finish him.
If Diego comes in healthy like he has done in the past, Fitch doesn’t stand a chance in hell. After he dismantles him I hope he gets to finally settle the score with KOS, hate that bastard.
[quote comment=”101617″]What happened to Diego vs Sakurai?? I thought that that fight was all set, and they even showed Sakurai sitting ring side last week.[/quote]
Maybe Karo? I don’t know. It was obviously discussed, but apparently the UFC has other plans. Who knows, really, this is not final by any means. Maybe the UFC at the last minute decides to match up Mach with Diego. Anything can happen at this point.
[quote comment=”101619″]Diego better bring his A game, cause if he just dances around like against Kos, he will lose again, and probably worse, Fitch might actually finish him.[/quote]
I don’t think that will happen. By nature, Fitch is agressive, which plays right into Diego’s game. Diego is most effective when he is provoked. And Fitch will certainly provoke him. Maybe not a good thing for Fitch. We’ll see if it happens.
This might be one of the best fights we have seen this year. Fitch has great game, but didnt look to well against Carniero on the ground last fight. Its pretty appearent Sanchez is a great ground fighter. Fitch having Kos as a training partner Im sure will help out a bit.
Fitch looks like an axe murder in that pic…
Personally I dont want to see either guy lose so I hope this fight doesnt go through. I much rather see Jon Fitch bust up Karo “crybaby / Do you know what I can do to these punks?” Parysian. Someone please show the world why Karo will always be a second rate fighter and with his arrogant attitude, he will never fight for the title because he just isnt marketable.
As I am sure most of us are familiar with by now, as evidence in pathetic fighter salaries, The UFC and Dana are concerned with money alone. Karo wouldnt bring in the necessary PPV sales that the UFC looks for in a main event. Maybe he could fight for a title if he beats Fitch. Until then I say no.
By the way Deigo would literally murder Karo again if they fought.
P.S. Why does Diego have a jerry curl in this photo lol
i think if this fight does happen fitch will follow the same game plan as kos. i would love to see fitch rock diego!! AKA all the way!!
[quote comment=”101644″]i think if this fight does happen fitch will follow the same game plan as kos. i would love to see fitch rock diego!! AKA all the way!![/quote]
You gotta realize that thats not how Diego fights always, he always brings it…This fight would be nice, ground or standup….fight of the year canidate im sure…i dont know who i would give it to, i know it would be exciting…if this one happens i hope Karo fights Mach..I would rather see Diego vs Mach and Fitch vs Karo…but I will take a fight between these for guys either way
I was very impressed by Fitch’s last fight against Carneiro. It wasn’t domination, but the heart shown by Fitch when he ran into trouble (see anaconda choke) was most impressive. I’d like to seem him get a shot with one of the bigger names in the division.
I dunno.
I still think I would perfer to watch Jon Fitch vs. Karo Parisyan.
nice jerry curl diego
fitch looked impressive against roan, but kinda looked easy to take down, something diego excells at. diegos fight against kos was a fluke to me. the guy thought he he had hep-c and was going to announce his retirement, then he found out he had staph. what fighter could fight at 100% w/ these things on his mind. i think fitch is right were he should be fighting atop 5 contender. personally i would rather see diego vs fitch than sakuri. if both fighters bring their A game i see diego winning by UD.
[quote comment=”101623″][quote comment=”101617″]
By nature, Fitch is agressive, which plays right into Diego’s game. Diego is most effective when he is provoked. And Fitch will certainly provoke him. Maybe not a good thing for Fitch. We’ll see if it happens.[/quote]
i agree with that 100 percent, this match up is definitely gonna provide some action…i personally would rather see fitch/karo, only because i’m a fan of both diego and fitch and would hate to see either one lose, but as a fan of mma this is probably the best match up out there for both guys right now and its going to be a scrap, both have really good wrestling, i’d say fitch’s stand up is slightly better, and i’d say diego’s all around ground game and escapablility from submissions is better, but these guys are pretty much even, its gonna be all about who brings it more on that night, i’m sure gonna be nervous for this one as a diego fan, i really don’t want him to lose two in a row, but i’m also excited because if he can beat fitch it will make the koscheck loss look not as bad…i’m picking and routing for diego in a decision win, i still got love for fitch, but diego is my boy, i never go against diego…
[quote post=”2705″]P.S. Why does Diego have a jerry curl in this photo lol [/quote]
Because the ring girls dig it. I love what Fitch has done, but Diego is my boy. If he’s healthy he takes Fitch, then kicks Kos’ ass in the stands just for fun.
should be a good fight.
Fitch needs this one. Fitch wins this by 3rd round submission (rear naked choke) after Diego is completely worn down.
Whoop his ass Fitch. I love it…..please make this a reality!
[quote comment=”101662″]fitch looked impressive against roan, but kinda looked easy to take down, something diego excells at. diegos fight against kos was a fluke to me. the guy thought he he had hep-c and was going to announce his retirement, then he found out he had staph. what fighter could fight at 100% w/ these things on his mind. i think fitch is right were he should be fighting atop 5 contender. personally i would rather see diego vs fitch than sakuri. if both fighters bring their A game i see diego winning by UD.[/quote]
Fitch is far from “easy to take down,” which comes from his wresting background. The fact that Roan did it twice speaks to his ability more than it does to Fitch being easy to take down. The problem is that too many people only know the fighters the UFC promotes. There are a ton of really talented fighters that we never hear about because the sport is so young. Roan was at least 6′1″ but was listed at 5′9″. He was just as big as Fitch, if not bigger. That’s fairly uncommon at 170lbs. I have a picture of Fitch & Diego on my fridge and Fitch dwarfs Diego. I think they’re both really solid fighters, but in my opinion, Fitch out powers him and and ends it in the 2nd. I think this will slingshot him into the top 3 since Diego already beat-up Karo and to beat Diego, Kos had to take it to an unimpressive decision. If Fitch wins in impressive fashion, he will leapfrog both of them in the minds of most fans. What fights he actually gets will still be up to the UFC of course.
Diego wasnt himself against kos.. we all kno that.. he doesnt fight like that.. there was some seriously wrong.. the staff infection or his right mind set.. Sanchez is no blow over.. it will be one hell off a fight.. i pick sanchez in split decision.
both guys need this fight bad. diego is coming off a loss and fitch is just starting to get recognition.
i just don’t want to hear diego thank god jesus christ etc for a half hour.
and kos will not matter in the scheme of things if he gets his head kicked off by gsp
[quote comment=”101725″]Diego wasnt himself against kos.. we all kno that.. he doesnt fight like that.. there was some seriously wrong.. the staff infection or his right mind set.. Sanchez is no blow over.. it will be one hell off a fight.. i pick sanchez in split decision.[/quote]
I’ll admit that there may have been some other things on his mind, but that’s part of the fight game. These guys are almost never 100% when they get in the cage. Diego barely beat Koschek on TUF, season 1, when Kos was a pure wrestler. He’s improved leaps and bounds since then. I’m not sure why people are surprised Diego lost the rematch. He was already a solid well rounded fighter on the show. Kos improved more and surpassed him. I agree that it wasn’t fun to watch, but he won that fight, hands down. I didn’t see a limp, hear a complaint or smell a rat in the 2nd fight….he just lost.
I personally talked to diego sanchez at ufc 73 and he confirmed that he would fight fitch in sept. Also I asked about the bj penn rumor and diego said he agreed to the fight but bj declined.
Marshmellow soft BJ Penn backs down from Diego Sanchez I love it lol
[quote post=”2705″]I personally talked to diego sanchez at ufc 73 and he confirmed that he would fight fitch in sept. Also I asked about the bj penn rumor and diego said he agreed to the fight but bj declined.[/quote]
Why would BJ want to fight Diego? BJ is going to get a title shot against Sherk. Why would he fight a guy that just lost and dropped out of UFCmania’s top 5? Really, what would he gain by beating Diego instead of Sherk?
Note to Dana we all want to see Jon Fitch kick the $hit out of Karo so make that fight happen. He isnt worthy of a title shot just for beating Burkman. Wasnt too long ago that Diego beat Karo.
Its not like Diego is lined up for a title shot in the near future so why should Karo be ?
Matt Hughes busts up Matt Serra then takes on the winner of GSP / Kos …..
The following fight should be either Jon Fitch or Diego Sanchez
[quote comment=”101742″][quote comment=”101725″]Diego wasnt himself against kos.. we all kno that.. he doesnt fight like that.. there was some seriously wrong.. the staff infection or his right mind set.. Sanchez is no blow over.. it will be one hell off a fight.. i pick sanchez in split decision.[/quote]
I’ll admit that there may have been some other things on his mind, but that’s part of the fight game. These guys are almost never 100% when they get in the cage. Diego barely beat Koschek on TUF, season 1, when Kos was a pure wrestler. He’s improved leaps and bounds since then. I’m not sure why people are surprised Diego lost the rematch. He was already a solid well rounded fighter on the show. Kos improved more and surpassed him. I agree that it wasn’t fun to watch, but he won that fight, hands down. I didn’t see a limp, hear a complaint or smell a rat in the 2nd fight….he just lost.[/quote]
While i agree fighters are almost never 100% i dont agree that Kos won that fight hands down. And its a joke to think Kos has surpassed Diego in the MMA game. Im not saying it wont happen im just saying as of right now Kos hasnt surpassed Diego in any real aspect of MMA except Wrestling. Yeah Diego lost by decision its a loss either way but it wasnt a crazy impressive win by Koscheck. Normally this is where a guy would say you will see how great Kos is when he starts fighting guys Diego has already beat but im not gonna say that. Kos has two things Strength and Wrestling and in his weight class he’s gonna need more tools to get to the belt. He’s got crazy potential but i dont rate him top 5 as of yet. GSP can match Koscheck’s strength and nullify his wrestling. If GSP forced Kos to stand and bang GSP has a better chance of winning. One way for Kos to win against GSP swing for the fences and hope he connects.
First Penn now Fitch. I’m still thinking it’s MAch. Regardless Diego better be ready because any of the above guys can take the Win.
Actually wouldnt mind seeing this fight at all. The mach is fight is awesome but I been wanting to see Diego/Fitch for awhile now. A true test for both fighters to contiue on in this division
I know Karo is arrogant, but alot of fighters are. He usually has exciting fights because he is an exciting fighter. I do agree that Karo should fight at least one of the top contenders to prove he is worthly of a title shot.
76 in Anaheim is going to be hott!!!!1
You got Shogun/Machida, Sanchez/and some quality fighter (Mach/Fitch), Chuck Liddell has confirmed his return for 76 and Dana claims it will be a big name. Still hoping for Wandy. You got Swick/Leben at 170. And Vera had thrown word out there that he could be fighting at 76 as well (Vera/Arlovski, Vera/Nog, Vera/Barnett, or Vera/Fedor)My God!
It would be a wicked fight, and answer a lot of questions about how good fitch really is.
Gay picture though.
I think this would help answer all the questions out there that we have about Fitch. No one really knows how good the guy actually is.
If this fight happens Diego will win. Even though he was shat in his last fight, I still see him as one of the top 2 or 3 fighters in the 170ib division. He will redeem himself…and will soon challenge for the belt.
Diego, GSP, and Hughes (yes Hughes) are the class of the division…Fitch is great, but he’d lose to any of the above. I’d love to see Fitch and Karo fight…just to see how good Fitch truly is.
[quote comment=”101832″][quote comment=”101742″][quote comment=”101725″]Diego wasnt himself against kos.. we all kno that.. he doesnt fight like that.. there was some seriously wrong.. the staff infection or his right mind set.. Sanchez is no blow over.. it will be one hell off a fight.. i pick sanchez in split decision.[/quote]
I’ll admit that there may have been some other things on his mind, but that’s part of the fight game. These guys are almost never 100% when they get in the cage. Diego barely beat Koschek on TUF, season 1, when Kos was a pure wrestler. He’s improved leaps and bounds since then. I’m not sure why people are surprised Diego lost the rematch. He was already a solid well rounded fighter on the show. Kos improved more and surpassed him. I agree that it wasn’t fun to watch, but he won that fight, hands down. I didn’t see a limp, hear a complaint or smell a rat in the 2nd fight….he just lost.[/quote]
While i agree fighters are almost never 100% i dont agree that Kos won that fight hands down. And its a joke to think Kos has surpassed Diego in the MMA game. Im not saying it wont happen im just saying as of right now Kos hasnt surpassed Diego in any real aspect of MMA except Wrestling. Yeah Diego lost by decision its a loss either way but it wasnt a crazy impressive win by Koscheck. Normally this is where a guy would say you will see how great Kos is when he starts fighting guys Diego has already beat but im not gonna say that. Kos has two things Strength and Wrestling and in his weight class he’s gonna need more tools to get to the belt. He’s got crazy potential but i dont rate him top 5 as of yet. GSP can match Koscheck’s strength and nullify his wrestling. If GSP forced Kos to stand and bang GSP has a better chance of winning. One way for Kos to win against GSP swing for the fences and hope he connects.[/quote]
I say Kos surpassed him because he beat him. It wasn’t a split decision, it was a boring sparring match that ended up being a unamimous decision. Based on that alone is why I say he surpassed Diego. If Diego was a better jiu-jitsu guy, then he should have made it a jiu-jitsu fight. You didn’t mention stand-up as one of Kos’ strengths, but that’s exactly how he beat Diego. If Diego was a better striker, he should have knocked Kos out. If he’s not good enough to make the fight go where he wants it, it’s because he’s facing a better guy, who’s controlling the fight. As far as GSP goes….I agree - that dude’s a BEAST! He’s going to be a handful for anyone, including my boy Fitch. That said, this is MMA and anything can happen.
Should be a good fight, i hope fitch wins
Is Swick versus Leben actually taking place at 170 pounds ? Is it confirmed ? If it is indeed true, Mike Swick should have no problems at all in winning the fight. The transition in weight would be much easier for Swick. We have all seen the flaws in Chris Leben’s fight game. He is clearly no match for top level fighters (Silva) or even mid tier guys (Kalib Starnes). I dont know what kind of training they are putting Chris through over at Team Quest, but obviously it isn’t working. He needs to lose his pot belly and start doing some serious cardio and appear like a professional athlete which is what these fighters are.
Mike Swick first round TKO
[quote post=”2705″]We have all seen the flaws in Chris Leben’s fight game. He is clearly no match for top level fighters (Silva)[/quote]
Saying that Leben is not on the same level as Anderson Silva isn’t even a knock on Leben. Kevin, can you name me one fighter that is on the same level as Anderson Silva?? Excluding Dan Henderson, sine he and Randy Couture are the exceptions to just about every rule.
Karo “crybaby / Do you know what I can do to these punks?” Parysian.
LMAO what an arrogant guy, that was a classic quote.
[quote comment=”101869″]I know Karo is arrogant, but alot of fighters are. He usually has exciting fights because he is an exciting fighter. I do agree that Karo should fight at least one of the top contenders to prove he is worthly of a title shot.[/quote]
How about Karo vs Mike Swick?
[quote comment=”102343″]Is Swick versus Leben actually taking place at 170 pounds ? Is it confirmed ? If it is indeed true, Mike Swick should have no problems at all in winning the fight. The transition in weight would be much easier for Swick. We have all seen the flaws in Chris Leben’s fight game. He is clearly no match for top level fighters (Silva) or even mid tier guys (Kalib Starnes). I dont know what kind of training they are putting Chris through over at Team Quest, but obviously it isn’t working. He needs to lose his pot belly and start doing some serious cardio and appear like a professional athlete which is what these fighters are.
Mike Swick first round TKO[/quote]
Great question, when I heard about this fight, I assumed it was at 185lbs. Can anyone confirm they’re moving to WW?
i like the fight fitch needs to step up in opponents i think he’ll beat diego sanchez, looks pretty much top 4 match ups
winner of gsp/kos match vs winner or sanchez/fitch match
winner of that one gets shot at title.
but i’ll be honest i don’t like the fact that serra doesn’t have to defend till dec that is a good 9 months from not defending his belt. he should have to defend it once before the hughes fight. i know franklin ain’t hughes but he did fight twice once with a good opponent in okami hughes fought chris lyght who pretty much sucks. it’s dana white world to me it seems like he favors some fighters gives them easy tickets
Sanchez needs to cut that maine…He’s starting to look like Pablo Escobar….Fitch is gonna beat his ass….2 fight losing streak for that tool.
Point I was aiming to make was Chris Leben is a solid guy you would want to fight on your side in an alley bar brawl, but he has no chance against top level guys in the UFC. Furthermore he has showed all kinds of flaws in his last 3 bouts, something you wouldnt expect from a guy out of Team Quest. I hope this fight is at 170 pounds, it be a relatively easy win for Mike Swick since he would get to the weight a heck of a lot easier since Leben is a rolly polly.
swick may beat leben, but it will never be “relatively easy” (unless swick becomes anderson sylva overnight). i don’t think this is stylistically a good fight for swick. his chin is suspect, and leben can throw bombs (though it’s bee awhile since he’s thrown any)…
[quote comment=”101685″][quote comment=”101662″]fitch looked impressive against roan, but kinda looked easy to take down, something diego excells at. diegos fight against kos was a fluke to me. the guy thought he he had hep-c and was going to announce his retirement, then he found out he had staph. what fighter could fight at 100% w/ these things on his mind. i think fitch is right were he should be fighting atop 5 contender. personally i would rather see diego vs fitch than sakuri. if both fighters bring their A game i see diego winning by UD.[/quote]
Fitch is far from “easy to take down,” which comes from his wresting background. The fact that Roan did it twice speaks to his ability more than it does to Fitch being easy to take down. The problem is that too many people only know the fighters the UFC promotes. There are a ton of really talented fighters that we never hear about because the sport is so young. Roan was at least 6′1″ but was listed at 5′9″. He was just as big as Fitch, if not bigger. That’s fairly uncommon at 170lbs. I have a picture of Fitch & Diego on my fridge and Fitch dwarfs Diego. I think they’re both really solid fighters, but in my opinion, Fitch out powers him and and ends it in the 2nd. I think this will slingshot him into the top 3 since Diego already beat-up Karo and to beat Diego, Kos had to take it to an unimpressive decision. If Fitch wins in impressive fashion, he will leapfrog both of them in the minds of most fans. What fights he actually gets will still be up to the UFC of course.[/quote]
im a little late in my response, but here goes, your’e right that i dont know much about roan except for the hype that rogan and goldberg were saying about him. what is it that you know about roan? just because fitch is taller than diego dosent mean hes bigger or stronger. remember diego came dowm from 185 at the tuf. i still say that if roan could take down fitch so can diego, and it wont be so easy for him to get back up. anyway i still like diego to win, but wouldnt be shocked if fitch came away w/ the victory. i do agree that if fitch wins impressively he should leapfrog diego and kos and maybee even karo since digo beat him, but we’ll see.
[quote comment=”102570″][quote comment=”101685″][quote comment=”101662″]fitch looked impressive against roan, but kinda looked easy to take down, something diego excells at. diegos fight against kos was a fluke to me. the guy thought he he had hep-c and was going to announce his retirement, then he found out he had staph. what fighter could fight at 100% w/ these things on his mind. i think fitch is right were he should be fighting atop 5 contender. personally i would rather see diego vs fitch than sakuri. if both fighters bring their A game i see diego winning by UD.[/quote]
Fitch is far from “easy to take down,” which comes from his wresting background. The fact that Roan did it twice speaks to his ability more than it does to Fitch being easy to take down. The problem is that too many people only know the fighters the UFC promotes. There are a ton of really talented fighters that we never hear about because the sport is so young. Roan was at least 6′1″ but was listed at 5′9″. He was just as big as Fitch, if not bigger. That’s fairly uncommon at 170lbs. I have a picture of Fitch & Diego on my fridge and Fitch dwarfs Diego. I think they’re both really solid fighters, but in my opinion, Fitch out powers him and and ends it in the 2nd. I think this will slingshot him into the top 3 since Diego already beat-up Karo and to beat Diego, Kos had to take it to an unimpressive decision. If Fitch wins in impressive fashion, he will leapfrog both of them in the minds of most fans. What fights he actually gets will still be up to the UFC of course.[/quote]
im a little late in my response, but here goes, your’e right that i dont know much about roan except for the hype that rogan and goldberg were saying about him. what is it that you know about roan? just because fitch is taller than diego dosent mean hes bigger or stronger. remember diego came dowm from 185 at the tuf. i still say that if roan could take down fitch so can diego, and it wont be so easy for him to get back up. anyway i still like diego to win, but wouldnt be shocked if fitch came away w/ the victory. i do agree that if fitch wins impressively he should leapfrog diego and kos and maybee even karo since digo beat him, but we’ll see.[/quote]
Actually, I don’t know much more about Roan than you do…or probably most fight fans, even the die hard fans. That’s just the way it is with a young sport. My only point is that you assume Fitch is easy to take down because Roan took him down. Basically saying, we don’t even know who this guy and he took him down twice. My point is that there a ton of great fighters that we don’t know about because we haven’t been exposed to them. Honestly, after watching him fight Fitch, I think Roan is way better than he’ll get credit for with an 11-6 record….just my $.02, based on that 1 fight. I can say that Fitch is way bigger than Diego because I was having dinner with Fitch after he beat Brock Larson and Diego was sitting right behind us at Nobu. Diego was cool enough to take a picture…which ended being the picture posted on this site to promote the possible fight. The picture is cropped on the site, but the real one is on my fridge and trust me….Fitch is WAY bigger than Diego. With size comes leverage, which is why I believe Fitch will over power him. I know Diego fought at 185 on the show and that’s the weight class Fitch was going to fight at as well until he got bounced at the 12th hour (because he doesn’t have a “tv” personality…whatever that means). That said, Fitch started his fighting career at 205lbs. He didn’t do well, but he can carry that weight, no problem. I don’t mean to say he will walk all over Diego, becuase Diego is a tough dude who’s beaten bigger fighters. I just think Fitch has every bit as much skill as Diego, but the size/strength factor gives him the edge. I just hope this fight happens….I think it will be a good one!
[quote post=”2705″]I can say that Fitch is way bigger than Diego because I was having dinner with Fitch after he beat Brock Larson and Diego was sitting right behind us at Nobu. Diego was cool enough to take a picture…which ended being the picture posted on this site to promote the possible fight. [/quote]
I too have met and talked with Fitch and Diego. Jon is much, much bigger than Diego. On the other hand, that doesn’t mean much. I watched a grappling match between Kenny Florian and Jeff Monson not too long ago and Florian held his own. And, those stats were wrong, Roan was huge — much bigger than Fitch. I don’t think it means much, especially when good fighters like Diego can compensate in other areas.
[quote comment=”101996″][quote comment=”101832″][quote comment=”101742″][quote comment=”101725″]Diego wasnt himself against kos.. we all kno that.. he doesnt fight like that.. there was some seriously wrong.. the staff infection or his right mind set.. Sanchez is no blow over.. it will be one hell off a fight.. i pick sanchez in split decision.[/quote]
I’ll admit that there may have been some other things on his mind, but that’s part of the fight game. These guys are almost never 100% when they get in the cage. Diego barely beat Koschek on TUF, season 1, when Kos was a pure wrestler. He’s improved leaps and bounds since then. I’m not sure why people are surprised Diego lost the rematch. He was already a solid well rounded fighter on the show. Kos improved more and surpassed him. I agree that it wasn’t fun to watch, but he won that fight, hands down. I didn’t see a limp, hear a complaint or smell a rat in the 2nd fight….he just lost.[/quote]
While i agree fighters are almost never 100% i dont agree that Kos won that fight hands down. And its a joke to think Kos has surpassed Diego in the MMA game. Im not saying it wont happen im just saying as of right now Kos hasnt surpassed Diego in any real aspect of MMA except Wrestling. Yeah Diego lost by decision its a loss either way but it wasnt a crazy impressive win by Koscheck. Normally this is where a guy would say you will see how great Kos is when he starts fighting guys Diego has already beat but im not gonna say that. Kos has two things Strength and Wrestling and in his weight class he’s gonna need more tools to get to the belt. He’s got crazy potential but i dont rate him top 5 as of yet. GSP can match Koscheck’s strength and nullify his wrestling. If GSP forced Kos to stand and bang GSP has a better chance of winning. One way for Kos to win against GSP swing for the fences and hope he connects.[/quote]
I say Kos surpassed him because he beat him. It wasn’t a split decision, it was a boring sparring match that ended up being a unamimous decision. Based on that alone is why I say he surpassed Diego. If Diego was a better jiu-jitsu guy, then he should have made it a jiu-jitsu fight. You didn’t mention stand-up as one of Kos’ strengths, but that’s exactly how he beat Diego. If Diego was a better striker, he should have knocked Kos out. If he’s not good enough to make the fight go where he wants it, it’s because he’s facing a better guy, who’s controlling the fight. As far as GSP goes….I agree - that dude’s a BEAST! He’s going to be a handful for anyone, including my boy Fitch. That said, this is MMA and anything can happen.[/quote]
Stand-up is far from Koschecks attributes. Any fighter can spar or throw leather put Kos up against a profound striker and he’s not gonna fair so well. As for diego i cant make excuses for his fight against Kos i do think Sanchez’s BJJ is better. I think it was a bad fight on diego’s part he just wasnt all there. Every fighter has an off fight Kos included. Josh’s striking is improving yes but as far as MMA as a whole he hasnt surpassed Sanchez yet. If both fighters bring there A game i think Sanchez could win the fight standing or on the ground. Im not saying Diego is god and Kos is a scrub im just saying if ya really look at the attributes of both fighters Kos hasnt as of yet surpassed Diego.
The size difference dont mean anything. They are probably really pretty close in overall strength i dont see Fitch overwhelming Diego with his stength. And as far as height for evry advantage to being taller there is a disadvantage exspecially when it comes to Submissions.Reach is one big advantage to height but if you can close the distance fast like diego can it wont be a problem.
I forgot that Swick is supposed to fight Leben. So who the hell does Karo get? They should let Nick Diaz back in, that could be a good re-match. Or even Fitch’s last opponent, Roan Carneiro. I know Karo would most likely win, but it wouldn’t be a landslide. I actully gave the first round to Roan over Fitch.
Koscheck may have beaten Diego but surpass him I think not. Everyone knows why Diego was fighting the way he was that night, that was not representative at all of how Diego fights. He was no way a 100% with all the problems he had, and that was the best Koscheck could do. Koschek needs to fight and beat convingly fighters like Karo and Nick Diaz for me to say that he’s surpassed Diego, and also beat Diego when he’s fighting at 100%, until then that crappy performance doesn’t mean anything. He might be there one day but he’s not there yet.
[quote comment=”103066″]Koscheck may have beaten Diego but surpass him I think not. Everyone knows why Diego was fighting the way he was that night, that was not representative at all of how Diego fights. He was no way a 100% with all the problems he had, and that was the best Koscheck could do. Koschek needs to fight and beat convingly fighters like Karo and Nick Diaz for me to say that he’s surpassed Diego, and also beat Diego when he’s fighting at 100%, until then that crappy performance doesn’t mean anything. He might be there one day but he’s not there yet.[/quote]i agree. i think we’ll be able to tell alot about kos when he goes up against gsp. if he wins (lol) he’ll be the #1 contender. if he gets destroyed he will go back to the 2nd tier of fighters, if he loses but puts up agood fight he’ll stay in the top 5 or 6.
[quote comment=”103225″][quote comment=”103066″]Koscheck may have beaten Diego but surpass him I think not. Everyone knows why Diego was fighting the way he was that night, that was not representative at all of how Diego fights. He was no way a 100% with all the problems he had, and that was the best Koscheck could do. Koschek needs to fight and beat convingly fighters like Karo and Nick Diaz for me to say that he’s surpassed Diego, and also beat Diego when he’s fighting at 100%, until then that crappy performance doesn’t mean anything. He might be there one day but he’s not there yet.[/quote]i agree. i think we’ll be able to tell alot about kos when he goes up against gsp. if he wins (lol) he’ll be the #1 contender. if he gets destroyed he will go back to the 2nd tier of fighters, if he loses but puts up agood fight he’ll stay in the top 5 or 6.[/quote]
I totally agree with both of you. Kos has awesome potential besides his attitude lol. Some guys can be total pricks and it just hypes the fights and brings more fans for them and MMA kinda like a Tito Ortiz but Koshceck just comes off seemingly like a total a$$hole. All that aside he does have potential but i dont agree he is top 5. I think Karo would give Kos a deffinite run for his money. That would be a level fight for Kos. Because they both have bad attitudes lol. I dunno Karo couldnt get passed GSP so i doubt Kos will be able too. But theres always the punchers chance but i think GSP is gonna be wary of that from now on. And as far as Diego vs Fitch thats hard to predict but i dont see Size coming into play i think Fitch is listed at what 6″ ft tall and Diego is listed at 5.11″ so like 2 inches isnt gonna make a huge difference. But from this pic the height difference does look more. Like it was said before though Diego is used to fighting fighters Taller than him Nick Diaz 6″ ft,Jorge Santiago 6.1″, etc. Fitch will have the reach advantage most likely. Should be a great solid fight.
[quote comment=”102875″]I forgot that Swick is supposed to fight Leben. So who the hell does Karo get? They should let Nick Diaz back in, that could be a good re-match. Or even Fitch’s last opponent, Roan Carneiro. I know Karo would most likely win, but it wouldn’t be a landslide. I actully gave the first round to Roan over Fitch.[/quote]
Yeah did you see Nicks win over Gomi. I was impressed i know it was overturned but still impressive and the NSAC commission dont know nothin. Trying to say that pot made him fight better and that he was intoxicated and numb to the pain lmao apparently no one on the NSAC has ever gotten stoned. Numb yeah maybe but be able to fight and win i dont think so.
[quote comment=”103252″][quote comment=”103225″][quote comment=”103066″]Koscheck may have beaten Diego but surpass him I think not. Everyone knows why Diego was fighting the way he was that night, that was not representative at all of how Diego fights. He was no way a 100% with all the problems he had, and that was the best Koscheck could do. Koschek needs to fight and beat convingly fighters like Karo and Nick Diaz for me to say that he’s surpassed Diego, and also beat Diego when he’s fighting at 100%, until then that crappy performance doesn’t mean anything. He might be there one day but he’s not there yet.[/quote]i agree. i think we’ll be able to tell alot about kos when he goes up against gsp. if he wins (lol) he’ll be the #1 contender. if he gets destroyed he will go back to the 2nd tier of fighters, if he loses but puts up agood fight he’ll stay in the top 5 or 6.[/quote]
I totally agree with both of you. Kos has awesome potential besides his attitude lol. Some guys can be total pricks and it just hypes the fights and brings more fans for them and MMA kinda like a Tito Ortiz but Koshceck just comes off seemingly like a total a$$hole. All that aside he does have potential but i dont agree he is top 5. I think Karo would give Kos a deffinite run for his money. That would be a level fight for Kos. Because they both have bad attitudes lol. I dunno Karo couldnt get passed GSP so i doubt Kos will be able too. But theres always the punchers chance but i think GSP is gonna be wary of that from now on. And as far as Diego vs Fitch thats hard to predict but i dont see Size coming into play i think Fitch is listed at what 6″ ft tall and Diego is listed at 5.11″ so like 2 inches isnt gonna make a huge difference. But from this pic the height difference does look more. Like it was said before though Diego is used to fighting fighters Taller than him Nick Diaz 6″ ft,Jorge Santiago 6.1″, etc. Fitch will have the reach advantage most likely. Should be a great solid fight.[/quote]
Guys, Diego BARELY beat Kos when he was a pure wrestler. He’s been rolling with some of the best in the game at AKA….do you think that he didn’t improve? He didn’t need to improve much to surpass Diego, as was evident by their first fight when Diego was 100%. I can’t say I’m a Kos fan, but I try to be objective by what I see in the ring. Their 2nd fight was painful to watch, but Diego went on Kos’ Myspace page and basically said he didn’t want the fight to go to the ground (calling Kos the human blanket). Diego got what he asked for and lost a boring fight. I think the 2 are probably very close, but you have to give the nod to the guy who won the fight….just my $.02. As far Fitch vs Diego, we’ll all have to wait and see. Height is only 1 factor….I think Fitch is going to overpower him, but as you can tell…I have a biased opinion - Fitch is my boy from Purdue -I’ll admit that, but I still believe it’s true.
Kos doesnt have the MMA skills Diego has as of yet. I never said he hasnt improved im sure he has. But if Diego barely beat Kos the first time and Kos barely beat Diego the last time when diego was sick. Then we may never know unless they fight again. Dont forget that Diego has improved also. Kos is explosive kinda like a melvin guillard and strong but thats probably all he will ever be. Yeah you can rack up some impressive wins with those skills everything but become the champ. Because that is just not enough. Im not saying Dieog is on the fast track to the belt they both have their work cut out for them.
diego
[quote comment=”104166″]Kos doesnt have the MMA skills Diego has as of yet. I never said he hasnt improved im sure he has. But if Diego barely beat Kos the first time and Kos barely beat Diego the last time when diego was sick. Then we may never know unless they fight again. Dont forget that Diego has improved also. Kos is explosive kinda like a melvin guillard and strong but thats probably all he will ever be. Yeah you can rack up some impressive wins with those skills everything but become the champ. Because that is just not enough. Im not saying Dieog is on the fast track to the belt they both have their work cut out for them.[/quote]
Agreed….I think they’re very close and actually fairly similar - super quick!
I think Fitch has the wrestling and striking advantage as well as strenght. Sanchez may have the submission and experience advantage and maybe cardio.
Roan was able to take Fitch down because of his incredible strength and grappling experience. Fitch showed his great submission defense. I don’t think that means Fitch is easy to take down - it means Roan is really strong.
This one is a toss up to me but I’m leaning towards Fitch by decision. I’m really looking forward to this match - both guys bring it.
As for Kos - he’s just a better athlete than Sanchez - and a better striker and wrestler. We’ll see how he compares to GSP.
These two matches will give us a lot of insight to tell who the top 170s are.
Diego Sanchez is a great fighter; the man was on a role a 19-0.
He should have lost to nick diaz, or karo parisyian. I even thought Riggs would have beaten him.
Fitch is also on a 13 -0 role but I was not impressed by his last fight. He looked very slow to me, I don’t see him winning this fight. Diego Sanchez TKO 2 round if he cuts back on the pot.
Give credit where its due the man can fight.