Top welterweight contender Diego Sanchez has informed the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that he is willing to compete in the 155-pound division if the promotion feels that the 15-pound weight dip is something that it wants to pursue in the future.
“The Nightmare” made the surprise announcement in a MySpace message last night. And MMAmania.com was today able to confirm that the statement is indeed accurate.
Here’s what he had to say:
“I’m back. I’m training hard and will be dropping down to fight at 155. I will keep you all posted on the info of the fight! But I promise you all that I will do my best to win.”
The inaugural The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) middleweight champion has resisted the move in recent past, which makes his latest remarks a bit curious. Especially since he was knocking on the door of a potential 170-pound title shot with a win over Thiago Alves at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” back in October.
Sanchez had to withdraw from the bout, however, because of a rib injury. “The Pitbull” went on to strafe last minute replacement and top player in the division, Josh Koscheck, to score a convincing unanimous decision win.
Perhaps the performance opened his eyes to just how big and powerful several of the fighters in the division really are — Alves, as well as Jon Fitch who he lost to just last year, are guys who hover around 200 pounds outside the Octagon.
Sanchez, on the other hand, is an average-sized welterweight competitor who could make the cut if he made that decision.
Time will tell how this all shakes out … it’s far from official at this time. There are several great fights for him at 155, including a rematch with top division contender Kenny Florian who he blasted in the original TUF finale to win the 185-pound season crown.
Not to mention the current lightweight champion, BJ Penn, could bolt for greener pastures in the welterweight division if he can topple reigning 170-pound kingpin Georges St. Pierre early next year. That would leave the status of the lightweight title in a state of flux and possibly up for grabs once again.
And Sanchez could make a quick run to a championship opportunity with a handful of convincing wins. Or, he could remain at welterweight and attempt to extend his current two-fight win streak against the likes of Fitch, Koscheck, Alves and others.
It’s good to have options.
106 Comments »
I think that would be a good move for sanchez
I agree, I’m a big diego fan, I think he’s a top ww, never mind lw! I think he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. You guys got to get over sanchez/florian for the title, BJ isn’t giving it up. Why are you guys so against bj holding 2 titles in 2 weights? So what!! every fight doesn’t have to be a title fight, best case scenario, BJ fights every 3 months and defends both titles twice a year!
as long as the titles can be defended that often, then hey, I’m all about it. Worse case scenario would be an injury that holds up both of the belts for extended periods of time. And I don’t know about you guys, but I’m more than a little tired of the whole “interim champion” thing (in my eyes, Nog is the real champ). But, more to the topic at hand, I think Diego would be downright NASTY at LW, a real nightmare for a lot of those guys.
he’ll be a big…no a huge LW
Right about Diego. I bet Florian is pissed.
True that! He’d be F’in HUGE! Picture him and say one of those bird chested guys from this season’s TUF in the cage at the same time. Honestly, If Roop were fighting Diego I’d cr@p my pants for him cuz we all know someone that size would win a free trip in an ambulance.
I can’t believe I forgot about a possible rematch with Florian, I’d love to see it!
I see Diego beating BJ at LW and WW.
Diego is tough.
Who has Diego Sanchez defeated that’s any good? To me, he’s a bit overrated. I know he’s good but I would not call him a top contender right now. Maybe if he could have defeated someone like Alves or Koschek.
If Diego only fought smart against Fitch, his career would’ve been different.
Kevin: Its not that I dont want to see BJ hold on to both titles, its that I dont think the lightweight belt means as much to BJ, so I see him getting bored at lightweight, eventually vacating it and defending what will be his welterweight title.
Diego has good match ups waiting for him at lightweight:
Sherk
Florian
Tyson
Edgar
Nate Diaz
Those are some great matchups. Diego would do very well at LW. I can definitely see him getting a titleshot within a year.
As for BJ, if BJ beats Florian, which he should,(though I think it could be very close and competitive) he’ll definitely get bored at LW. However should Diego drop down a fight with him would be interesting and I’m sure BJ would be up for that one. After that though I don’t see many more fights for BJ at LW. He’s undoubtedly more suited to LW but he wants to challenge himself at WW. If he can get past GSP, (I personally don’t think he will, 60:40 GSP in my eyes) then there’s Alves, Koscheck, Fitch and others to contend with. Plus a rubber match with GSP if he beats him.
I agree Rob! BJ should definitely fight Florian, although it doesnt seem to interest him all that much. BJ vs. Diego at 155 lbs would be interesting. But like you pointed out, bJ gets BORED at lightweight and BJ is all about Challenging himself, so I am pretty sure that win or lose against GSP (win if you ask me), I think BJ’s days at lightweight are numbered and he will eventually make the permanent switch to welterweight. after all, there isnt really many challenges waiting for him at lightweight, unless the UFC starts signing some of DREAM top lightweights which I doubt! how can we expect bJ to NOT get bored at lightweight, when he is head and shoulders above the rest of the division? sherk is probably the UFC’s best lightweight besides Penn and look what bJ did to him. it wasnt even competitive! I love how BJ looks to challenge him. Staying at LW for 2 much longer will just stunt his growth as a fighter.
Keep in mind, BJ is dying to avenge his loss to Matt HUghes. AS much as a lop sided fight that would be, I wouldnt mind watching Penn embarrass Hughes into retirement !
I just hope BJ doesn’t use the extra 15 pounds for WW as fat. I think against Joe Daddy he was in the best shape of his life. I’d much rather see him come in underweight against GSP than pudgy at 170.
I agree. If he is able to defend both, why not let him. I’d like to see Sanchez/Penn being that I’m a fan of both. I’d have to give that fight to BJ via decision though.
I don’t think you’ll see any more BJ Penn decisions, he’s the new Kenflo..
BJ Penn finishes fights
bj bj bj bj bj bj bj bj bj bj bj bj bj bj bj b j bj
where is ((ADAM G)) when you need him?
this is exciting, he’ll be a monster down there, but it means i won’t get to see him fight Kampmann…..Booooooo. Anyway, this makes it tough cuz now I have someone other than Kenny and BJ to root for at LW. That’s a sick top 3. Throw in Sherk and they should all be in the cage at once. Whoever comes out on top is the man.
LOL i’m picturing this thing like wrestling style, with tag team moves and stuff, then teammates turn on each other…. oh man it would be awesome
I hate to be the one to burst the bubble, but BJ’s not going to be Georges imo. I just think GSP will be too big and strong for Penn. I think Georges is gonna outwork him for it. It can’t always be pretty, but a wins a wins. He’ll do it like the Canadian hockey style “dump and chase”. Try and work the jab, work the take down, try a little ground and pound, grind out an ugly win, easier said then done. With his size, strength and athletic ability I think Georges will be able to overcome Penns incredible talent. Then again I wouldn’t be surprised to see Penn win, would be pissed that I lost 100 bucks and bragging rights but it would set up at sweet GSP/Penn 3!
I kind of see it the same. Size, strength and athletic ability will play a big part I feel. It mightn’t be pretty but he’ll probably get the job done. I see it 60:40 in GSP’s favour.
However with that being said, I can’t see BJ getting knocked out but I could see GSP getting rocked by BJ. I think BJ might be a little bit tougher than GSP but that won’t matter as long as GSP plays it smart and doesn’t get caught. Easier said than done I know. Still I’m sticking with my original prediction, GSP by UD.
BJ Penn is with out a doubt a tougher person Generally than GSP. LIke you said, GSP will never have Penn Rocked, but Penn could rind GSP’s Bell!
I got BJ Penn in an upset… RNC!!
BJ Penn is going to take GSP’s back, unfamiliar territory to GSP, and then bJ will sink in the choke and win his title back!
You really think GSP can’t rock BJ?? So that kick to Matt Hughes head was just a figment of my imagination. Seriously, after reading Kevin and your posts all the time…”I can’t tell if you guys are retarded or bi-polar…”. What do I know though, just a tuff fan. He better eat his friggin lucky charms that morning if he thinks he’s going to just hop on GSP’s back. BJ is getting way to much credit, the guy drops to lightweight, buys and Tredmill, beats Stevenson and sherk…seriously…did everybody forget that GSP smashed sherk like 4 years ago. He’s about to drop 2 fights in a row…1st against GSP and then to Florian. Then he can go bounty hunting with “Dog”.You heard it hear first!
What does kicking matt hughes in the head have to do with knocking out B.J.? I think GSP will win the fight, but BJ has never really been rocked by anybody at any weight.
Look at the reach of the last 4 guys he’s fought. Hughes,pulver, stevenson and sherk. Yeah, not that hard to speed bag guys who have no range. Oh and lose to one of them because you’re not even strong enough to bench press your own weight. Maybe I’m hard on the guy, but I really don’t think he deserves all the respect he gets. Yes he’s the top LW in the world; yes he has held a belt in two weight classes; yes he would lose to the top 5 guys in WW.
Oh but wait…GSP got knocked out by Matt Serra
Anything else??
Bounty hunting with the Dog!!!….Haha love it. I think what John means is BJ is less likely to get rocked than GSP and that’s how I see it too. I might be wrong but I think BJ is tougher than GSP and can probably take a better shot than GSP too. Also, when BJ gets hit with a hard shot he usually gets them back worse straight away. I don’t think BJ minds getting hit as much as Georges does. St. Pierre is likely to shoot for the takedown if he gets clocked.
Of course all the top guys can knock each other out but I can see BJ rocking GSP but I think it will be less likely that GSP will rock BJ. Still, as I have said before I have GSP taking a UD in this one. I feel his superior athleticism and size and strength advantage will see him to the win.
As far as I can remember I’ve never seen BJ get rocked.
Well guys with lack of reach is great info and all, but knocking out hughes is a lot easier than knocking out BJ Penn. So I stiil don’t understand how you justify GSP’s ability to knock out BJ with the fact that he kicked hughes in the head. You might as well be saying Rich franklin can knock out Dan Henderson because he knocked out Nate Quarry. Even though Henderson has never been knocked out. Still I got GSP by decision in an awesome 5 round fight. And just to keep it applicable, BJ tools diego at ww or lw.
You won’t have to worry about that because nobody is going to beat GSP at welterweight.
Very good move.
I’m not a fan of his but this making it all interresting for me and I think he’ll be a force at 155.
Even the top guys at 155 must think it’s a wise move… unless they’re facing him…
diego sanchez is NOT going to make any splashes at 155! he has an aggressive, attacking, relentless style which will not bode well for him after he cuts alot of weight and is dehydrated! one of two things is going to happen, he is going to have a brandon vera debut at his new weight class, or not change weight classes at all, believe me!
before he did that i still would of liked to have seen him fight Thiago Alves- but even if he moves down to light weight i really do believe the new Kenny at LW can beat Diago as a LW
me too
i will put any amount of money that diego becaomes champ at 155 soon.
He’s only doing it because he thinks BJ will win and stay at 170. But BJ won’t win so it will be a pointless move. He’s too close to GSP, moving down in such a stacked division won’t help him get any closer to a title.
IMO, LW ain’t as stacked as WW. Diego shoulda just stuck with his division. All thatweight cutting is pointless. He should just train harder, and stick to WW.
I don’t think he could defeat Sean Sherk!
I respect your opinion but I think diego could handle Sherk. His reach and his boxing would dismantle Sherk and he is better on the ground as far as jitz goes…. Really Diego Sanchez is a dangerous dude once he gets his head out of the clouds.
I’m inclined to agree. Plus he’s as tough as nails. He could do great things at LW. I still think he can be a contender at WW too.
sherk and kenny again would be great fights to watch, probably a good move on the whole
Smart move by Dirty Sanchez
Smart move on his part…he’d be lucky to make it into the 2nd round against a guy like GSP. Diego is going to lose some power coming down to this weight. He’s said his ideal weight is 165 so dropping to 155 will be tough for him and he’s not going to be the same. I’d love to see Diego/Florian 2 at lightweight. Kenflo has come a lot further than Diego has since the show and I think he’d work Diego over.
i would love to see diego move down to lightweight and fight kenny florian for the number one contender spot while bj makes his apperance up at welterweight. I think diego would get past kenny rather easily, maybe not as easy as the first time but i dont think he would have much trouble, i also think he would prove to be bj’s biggest test at lightweight in the ufc
Diego is gunna fuck BJ up trust me …mark my words
Your words have been marked…
and now dismissed…..
Wow i try to say A$$ and I get moderated …. but zack can say F*ck ….I want his plan
Thats what I am saying. I wasn’t swearing, but what they deleted completely changed the context of my comment.
marked…..and now dismissed. lol. I love the humor here. But as much as I normally like Diego as a fighter (I don’t know him personally, but he seems like a complete fruitcake outside of the cage) I believe BJ would twist him up like a pretzel.
I try to liven it up a bit….. as long as me and a couple guys get a chuckle out of it…my day is made.
Oh yeah and Chef, when do you start the new job? Or have you already started it?
start Monday! I train with the current chef for two weeks, then go to d.c. for at least 3 days to train at (this is why I hate corporate, the silly talk) one of their “centers of excellence”. But looking forward to it, good company, benefits, the works. The info I had sent and downloaded today was massive, so I’ll be studying this weekend!
The names “compass” and “centers of excellence” do sound a little corporate…..
wow i just had a statemant of purely logical and ethical syntax and it was moderated…..hmmm
My comment got moderated. I am starting to hate this site. It said marked with idi0t above it.
Yeah I did a moderation test and idi0t was one of the words that got lost…… This site is the best but the moderation borders on insanity
Beware, when Mania scolded kevin the other day, I felt like a little kid who quietly went to his room while his brother got yelled at by dad!
ewe….I missed that, what thread was that in chef?
I’ll try and check. actually, kevin is posting now so maybe he sees this and lets us know.
matt lindland/vitor belfort thread.
good night guys, kinda pissed, missed the over on the game tonight by 2 points…only 1 score in second half. still made money (bet chargers and rutgers) but thought I had a 3-0 night going.
talk to you maniacs tomorrow.
hey chef, check out the pats/niners pic I put up…click my name, my seats were like three rows from there!!
Psyqo, I tried to find it but no luck. Maybe it was in the Ali thread that has been taken off?
Thank you guys!
I checked that out kevin, looks like an absolute blast! I’ve only been to one pro game, down in New Orleans. It was the year Tampa won the superbowl and the saints beat them in overtime that game. Crazy city, or least the French Quarter was. Thank god I didn’t grow up there, I’d have died with a smile on my face in a gutter somewhere at an early age!!
Chef,I love the way Kevin threw you under the bus on that last comment in the Linland thread….. Classic.. You guys rock and really make my day. They found a huge tumor in my mom yesterday and tomorrow they remove it so needless to say I have been down in the dumps… so ya’ll really cheer me up and I appreciate it dearly.Don’t get me wrong I have friends but ya’ll are different…. so thank you guys!
Mania,Please un-moderate that one …that was from the heart and meant alot….please!
Yeah, I noticed that under the bus bit myself but didn’t say anything. Hey man, wish the best for you
and your mom. Let us know how things go. I’m sure kevin and I will say numerous bizarre things designed to entertain.
PSYCO78. god bless you and you mom. i hope she gets well soon!
That is something i would like to see.
Wow alot of newbiees came out of the wood work for this one….. Welcome guys
here we go
ufc95
chuck v jardine 2 PLEASE!!!!!
a.silva v n Marquart 2
d sanchez v sean sherk
come on dana we deserve it!!
Mo, I have to ask…. What is up with you and 95?
Guess it’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, either that or just plain stupidity.
maybe he plans on going
I like watching diego fight, there’s still a few fights I wouldn’t mind seeing him fight at 170, he’s a tough sob and gave jon fitch a run for his money, the number 2 guy for now in the division. I would like to see diego and hughes go at it, karo vs diego 2 would be fun, diego vs serra would be a good one too. His only lame fight that I can think of was his with koscheck. I think sanchez would put up a good fight with anyone in the welter weight division including gsp and bj penn. Sanchez might be able to outlast penn at light weight for the title as he seems to have amazing cardio and a relentless pace. His chance for owning a title is by far the best at 155, at 170 there’s some seriously tough guys he would have to get through and his only 2 loss’s so far are from top 5 guys.
about time!!sanchez could easily cut to 155, hydrate and be aroumd 165 or more on fight might. he would be the bigger stronger guy for once
sorry my fat finger hit the m instead of n twice
Day1er, as an ex-wrestler, that will be a bitch of a cut for diego and is anything but “easy”… the last time Dieg weigh that much was when he was a senior in high school and won the New Mexico State Championship at 152lbs 9 years ago.
It’s going to take some time for him to make that cut and feel half way decent, he’ll have to lose some muscle along the way.
he is a weird dude, but a hell of a fighter. he will give BJ a run for his money. already a potential candidate for number 1 contender at 155.
i think if he can make the weight ken flo vs diego vs light weight would be great i mean when sherk went for the belt when it was vacant he has no lightweigt wins or fights yet
I believe that Sanchez is gonna wreck shop at 155. I would love for them to test him first on Guida.
yeah maybe they should feed Guida to Sanchez as a tune up and if he wins dominantly then we give him the winner of Florian-Penn for the title. no need to test him further.
I would like the nightmare to start with the carpenter now that would be an intense fight.
if you guys are excited about diego dropping to LW, send thiago alves an e-mail and thank him.
You know diego was watching the kos/alves fight and as soon as the horn sounded to end the first round he already made this decision cause he knows theres no way he could ever beat guys like alves, fitch, GSp and even kos.
and after florian submits diego he can drop to 145 and go to the WEC
Diego made a point of asking for Fitch and he put up a pretty good fight in the process. And if he can take Koscheck to descision when he was only 50% what makes you think he ca’t beat him when fighing at 100%. The first time that fight went to the ground Diego managed to sweep Koscheck and get mount. You need to stop hating and appreciate his skills.
diegos got a lot of heart for sure and is a good quality top ten contender in the ufc
but I just cannot stand when fighters drop down to lower wieght classes because of a loss or because they dont think they can earn or even win a title shot.
BJ penn, Dan henderson, Wanderlie silva those are the kind of fighters I love because if given an oppurtunity they will fight anyone they dont give a shit. And there not enough of these fighters out there. also A silva
when your a great top level fighter wieght really doesnt 20 30 lbs doest mean anything
That is exactly what Sherk did. Diego is probably being realistic, if his skill level is going to be equal to the guys at the top and the deciding factor in getting the win is going to be strength and power which because they are naturally bigger than him they are going to beat him in. Considering a move down especially if all it takes is a few losses to get cut from the UFC makes logical sense, he still has excellent competiton without having to worry about the strength and power disadvantages. Michael Bisping was in the same boat.
sorry about the ufc95 thing!!
Its my first live show guys, I just want to see some top guys on the card, and im a huge chuck fan so would love to see him fight before he retires and i dont have the cash to go to the states.
So i guess right now it is compulsive, obsessive and annoying lol!!!
On the other hand i cant wait for 27thdec thats gony be one great card!!!!!!
So you are going….. well that makes alot more sense.
Thanks for pointing it out, thankfully for all of us you seem mentally healthy and that’s a good thing… in here it’s rare though hehe.
Cool that you’re going there and it would be great if Chuck was fighting at that card, write him a mail or something… this world is strange enough so it can maybe help, I’m serious.
Hahaha, annoying… well you were but now we atleast know why.
Oh yes, that card is insane.
This is huge! Still not going to be the one to knock of Penn for the lw crown. With a few wins I easily could see Diego as the number 2 lw. Have him fight Kenflo, for number 1 contender.
i would love to see him put a beatdown on joe daddy
This is ridiculous. Diego should be fighting Thiago Alves asap. End of story.
Sounds like Diego wants no part of Alves
Sanchez vs Stevenson sounds good
Sanchez vs Kenflow would be a fast paced solid fight. I actually thought he’d drop down like he said after the Fitch fight. It’s finally a smart move on his part.
I hope BJ gets beat only so two divisions won’t be screwed up at once. I’m sick of the top contenders ‘waiting’ for their chance at the belts…
Let’s hope he doesn’t get Brandon Vera syndrome. I like Sanchez vs Diaz. That would be a great fight.
Sorry Diego, you will get whooped by BJ.
this makes me happy. Kenny is probably pissed!
I’m Diego’s biggest fan. Whatever my boy wants I got his back
hey, he’s single now!
no he aint his back with that ring girl lol
already??? didn’t we just hear that he dumped her and she found god like three days ago?
ahhh maybe it is over then, i knew they split up then got back together again but if i stand corrected i apoligise to you….
hey, im getting annoyed that the UFC havent announced any fights for 95 yet!! the tickets went on sale for fightclub members 2 weeks ago and spent £350($420) on a couple of tickets..and it makes me wonder that “rumours” went around saying liddel vs silva just before the tickets came out and now that fight proberly wont happen now, i went to ufc 75 and 85 and the fight cards wern’t that great so i hope ufc have something up their sleaves..
he allway’s looks like he’s trying to poop
I like Diego as a welter weight. He could have beaten Fitch if he wasnt’ quite so over the top agressive and tried to be a little more accurate. I’m tired of fighters running to lower weight classes just because they’ve a head one or two challenges in the more heavy division. In my opinion, Diego doesn’t appear “small” as a WW.