Diego Sanchez (17-2) will not take on Roan Carneiro at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” on March 1 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, as previously reported. Instead, the former winner of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 1 will fight Swedish import, David Bielkheden (12-5).
There was no mention of a reason behind the opponent switch in the MySpace bulletin sent around earlier this morning from the “Nightmare.”
Bielkheden is a veteran of the Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) scene, having competed under the Pride FC and Shooto banners, among others. The “Scandinavian Lion” is on a two-fight win streak and will be making his Octagon debut.
Sanchez, on the other hand, will look to rebound from back-to-back losses to American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) training partners, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch. Those were the first two defeats of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career and he was contemplating moving down to fight at lightweight.
However, Sanchez recently decided against that and will now look to get back on track against Bielkheden at 170 pounds.
Carneiro posed some serious size and strength problems for Sanchez. It doesn’t appear that Bielkheden poses the same challenge. Other than that it’s hard to give an assessment on the bout without much intel on Brazilian Top Team’s Bielkheden.
Because Sanchez is involved this match up will more than likely make the televised main card, which is quite an accomplishment considering how deep it is. Of course, the main event features the sick showdown between UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, and the last man to hold the Pride FC welterweight title, Dan Henderson.
For the most recent UFC 82 fight card click here.
27 Comments »
Mania, I just e-mailed u this news literally 1 minute ago. i am Fast, but u are swifter!
Anything to boost your self-confidence up will work for Diego. A TUF winner can’t lose 3 fights in a row especially if his counterpart(Griffin)is fighting for the belt later this year.
Why the hell didn’t they just re-match Fitch and Diego?
this is bullshit, these guys like diego and fitch want respect in the division yet now that its time to really prove themselves they end up fighting these no-namers, what the fuck is going on here. Everyone keeps talking about how stacked the ww division is yet here we are with 2 of the top guys (diego&fitch) fighting nobodies, pure bullshit.
[quote comment=”277910″]this is bullshit, these guys like diego and fitch want respect in the division yet now that its time to really prove themselves they end up fighting these no-namers, what the fuck is going on here. Everyone keeps talking about how stacked the ww division is yet here we are with 2 of the top guys (diego&fitch) fighting nobodies, pure bullshit.[/quote]
I highly doubt Diego called Joe Silva and said he wants to fight David Bielkheden.
It’s a fight that the UFC apparently wants.
And even if fighters request to fight certain fighters, there’s no guarantee that those fights will be booked for various reasons.
I’d blame Joe Silva and Dana White, not Diego Sanchez and Jon Fitch.
[quote comment=”277915″][quote comment=”277910″]this is bullshit, these guys like diego and fitch want respect in the division yet now that its time to really prove themselves they end up fighting these no-namers, what the fuck is going on here. Everyone keeps talking about how stacked the ww division is yet here we are with 2 of the top guys (diego&fitch) fighting nobodies, pure bullshit.[/quote]
I highly doubt Diego called Joe Silva and said he wants to fight David Bielkheden.
It’s a fight that the UFC apparently wants.
And even if fighters request to fight certain fighters, there’s no guarantee that those fights will be booked for various reasons.
I’d blame Joe Silva and Dana White, not Diego Sanchez and Jon Fitch.[/quote]
I’m sure the fighters have some say in who they fight, they have to agree and sign contracts for each fight, I realize they have to make a living but its doesnt make it right.Marcus Davis is another guy who fights lower class oponents , put him up against a contender and lets see if he belongs in the top 10. Guys like GSP and Matt Hughes dont fight nobodies and thats why they are at the TOP!
Bielkheden is very good.
top 10 in Europe, a black belt in BJJ, very powerful, good submission defence, great top position work and some brutal ground and pound.
I got some pictures of his fights in Cage Warriors if you need one for the site.
His highlight is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NCKKmbdbZg
I think it’s an excellent match-up
[quote comment=”277928″][quote comment=”277915″][quote comment=”277910″]this is bullshit, these guys like diego and fitch want respect in the division yet now that its time to really prove themselves they end up fighting these no-namers, what the fuck is going on here. Everyone keeps talking about how stacked the ww division is yet here we are with 2 of the top guys (diego&fitch) fighting nobodies, pure bullshit.[/quote]
I highly doubt Diego called Joe Silva and said he wants to fight David Bielkheden.
It’s a fight that the UFC apparently wants.
And even if fighters request to fight certain fighters, there’s no guarantee that those fights will be booked for various reasons.
I’d blame Joe Silva and Dana White, not Diego Sanchez and Jon Fitch.[/quote]
I’m sure the fighters have some say in who they fight, they have to agree and sign contracts for each fight, I realize they have to make a living but its doesnt make it right.Marcus Davis is another guy who fights lower class oponents , put him up against a contender and lets see if he belongs in the top 10. Guys like GSP and Matt Hughes dont fight nobodies and thats why they are at the TOP![/quote]
We have to realize that manyof the top Welterweights are booked to fight already around the time of Diego and Fitch’s fights, and the rest of the welterweights fought already and need recovery and training time before fighting again.
Gono wasn’t a bad opponent for Fitch. Some of you may be unfamiliar with Gono, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a quality opponent. I think Gono is on the same level as Karo’s next opponent.
Diego needs to be built back up.
Haha, Diego looks like Brock Lesnar’s little brother in that picture.
Carneio backed out because of an illness, NOT because Diego didnt want to fight him. Diego will fight anyone.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5528&zoneid=13
Are we ever going to have a big again or is this the crap we will have to settle for until Liddell fights again?
[quote comment=”277949″]Bielkheden is very good.
top 10 in Europe, a black belt in BJJ, very powerful, good submission defence, great top position work and some brutal ground and pound.
I got some pictures of his fights in Cage Warriors if you need one for the site.
His highlight is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NCKKmbdbZg
I think it’s an excellent match-up[/quote]
looks hard enough, but who knows how good his competition was - i checked em’ out n i think ive heard of 1 of the fighters out of the 17 fights he’s had.
Doesnt the UFC usually do a 3 strikes n your out! rule…. Diego is gone if he loses then right?…unless he puts on a crazy ass show i guess
This is good for Diego - I really think he would’ve had a lot of problems with Roan’s size & strength. I still give him props for taking the fight though. Too bad Carneiro got sick and Gono broke his hand….oh yeah, and that Karo’s duckin’ guys!
I seriously hope Bielkheden wins this fight and washes away the bad taste Per Eklund’s debut in the UFC left in the mouth of us Swedes.
Should be a good match, judging by what I’ve seen from Bielkheden.
Do you think a replcement for an injury is easy on anyone? it fucks with everyone. and when guys like fitch and diego haven’t had a paycheck in 4 to 6 months, they need to fight….even if it is a “lower” opponent. Fuck….9 out of 10 fights have a favorite and an underdog. as mma continues to grow and develop, more even and unpredictable match-ups will occur. There will come a point where obvious mismatches are bullshit, but now it is simply the reality. Especially when an injury occurs 6 months out.
Peace!
6 weeks…sorry
Bielkheden looks like the Diego of old (in terms of size and aggressiveness)… I hope Diego gained some muscle back because he looked like a LW vs Fitch…he should win this fight and make his way back to rematch KOS, I really hate that dude, so bad GSP didn’t KO him, although I’m happy anyways with how he humiliated him by out wrestling him in that fashion
[quote comment=”277910″]this is bullshit, these guys like diego and fitch want respect in the division yet now that its time to really prove themselves they end up fighting these no-namers, what the fuck is going on here. Everyone keeps talking about how stacked the ww division is yet here we are with 2 of the top guys (diego&fitch) fighting nobodies, pure bullshit.[/quote]
Woah, dude chill. Fitch was supposed to fight Gono. Do you think he is a chump?
[quote comment=”278047″][quote comment=”277949″]Bielkheden is very good.
top 10 in Europe, a black belt in BJJ, very powerful, good submission defence, great top position work and some brutal ground and pound.
I got some pictures of his fights in Cage Warriors if you need one for the site.
His highlight is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NCKKmbdbZg
I think it’s an excellent match-up[/quote]
looks hard enough, but who knows how good his competition was - i checked em’ out n i think ive heard of 1 of the fighters out of the 17 fights he’s had.
Doesnt the UFC usually do a 3 strikes n your out! rule…. Diego is gone if he loses then right?…unless he puts on a crazy ass show i guess[/quote]
your right dude is good but you know diego can pull off an upset.
to hell with dirty sanchez
I hope David beats him and starts dating Ali….
[quote comment=”278325″][quote comment=”277910″]this is bullshit, these guys like diego and fitch want respect in the division yet now that its time to really prove themselves they end up fighting these no-namers, what the fuck is going on here. Everyone keeps talking about how stacked the ww division is yet here we are with 2 of the top guys (diego&fitch) fighting nobodies, pure bullshit.[/quote]
Woah, dude chill. Fitch was supposed to fight Gono. Do you think he is a chump?[/quote]
Agreed - just because a guy’s name has never came out of Joe Rogan’s mouth doesn’t mean he’s not a legit fighter! Everyone was Noone before they became Someone…Haahaa!
[quote comment=”278325″][quote comment=”277910″]this is bullshit, these guys like diego and fitch want respect in the division yet now that its time to really prove themselves they end up fighting these no-namers, what the fuck is going on here. Everyone keeps talking about how stacked the ww division is yet here we are with 2 of the top guys (diego&fitch) fighting nobodies, pure bullshit.[/quote]
Woah, dude chill. Fitch was supposed to fight Gono. Do you think he is a chump?[/quote]
yeah but he’s not fighting Gon , is he?
I dont care who fights as long as I dont have to see sherk or Koscheck. Damn, nobody in MMA can stink up the house like these two bad boys. I cant believe people have to pay to watch these ground humpers produce stinker after stinker in both victoy and defeat. For god sake, the only sherk fight worth watching is when he was destroyed by GSP. Looks like BJ continues to get shot after shot and is most favored by the UFC but I dont really care because the at least Penn knows how to produce a good fight regardless if its on the ground or on his feet.
[quote comment=”278392″]I hope David beats him and starts dating Ali….[/quote]
That is too funny. I like to date her, but I think dieogo got this, this guy is no namer, I would like to see dieogo finch rematch or even dieogo and karo rematch.
I don’t know why dieogo if he can go down to 155 he will be a monster in that devision, I think only Sherk and penn could give him trouble.
[quote comment=”283981″]
I don’t know why dieogo if he can go down to 155 he will be a monster in that devision, I think only Sherk and penn could give him trouble.[/quote]
Uhhh, BJ Penn?
i strongly dislike diego, but i hope he gets a win here so he could get a possible match with mike swick and go 0-3 against aka. i could see him underestimating david here and getting caught. i havent seen him fight before but from wat u guys say he sounds tuff. will be a good fight.