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UFC welterweights Diego Sanchez and Paulo Thiago will square off at UFC 121, which takes place October 23rd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The headlining bout for the evening is a UFC heavyweight title bout between Cain Velasquez and champion Brock Lesnar.

Both Sanchez and Thiago are coming off losses. Sanchez dropped a bout against John Hathaway, who outstruck the Mexican-American welterweight. Sanchez was unable to take the fight to the ground and work his punches and elbows which he does so well. With no ground and pound and submission work to fall back on, Sanchez would be forced to stand and get battered for most of the fight against Hathaway.

Thiago was defeated by Martin Kampmann in his last outing in the UFC Octagon. The Brazilian was handled for much of the fight on the ground as was not able to land solid strikes on his Danish opponent, although Thiago tried hard to whale some big shots at Kampmann. The money shot never landed and Thiago, although highly successful in past bouts, was defeated by decision to Kampmann.

This is not an easy fight to call. If Sanchez can get things to the ground he has a chance to win via ground and pound decision. Thiago however has the better standup and with the force he throws punches, he could potentially catch Sanchez. Although Sanchez has never been KO’d, there’s probably a good chance that if Thiago lands clean on anyone at welterweight, they can go out.

Although they both were defeated in their last outings, I think Thiago looked the better of the two. Much of Sanchez’s loss had to do with how impressive Hathaway looked, but going into this fight at UFC 121, I feel Thiago will still have some more momentum coming in and greater confidence. Sanchez had a crushing loss to BJ Penn and has been defeated by Hathaway. But although Thiago dropped a decision to Kampmann, the Brazilian still has had two spectacular finishes over tough welterweights. He choked out Mike Swick and knocked out the number one contender in the division–Josh Koscheck.

Thiago by decision.

Brazil Series – Paulo Thiago – Highlight [HELLO JAPAN] from Hello Japan on Vimeo.

This is going to be a very exciting fight. I am going to go with BJ Penn in this fight, I think his skill level will be just a little too much for Diego Sanchez, but one thing is for sure–Sanchez is going to bring it. This is his dream and he is extremely hungry. He always puts it all on the line is one of those fights who is highly intense and you’re always confident will put forth an incredible effort and is always dangerous. I had the chance to meet Sanchez once at a Dave and Busters and I could very quickly tell from the 15 second interaction I had with him that he is a very intense person. That’s an obvious characteristic from watching him compete, and that brooding intensity is something that has allowed him to get as far as he has in MMA.

Penn himself is at an all-time high in terms of training, conditioning and being on top of his game. Fresh of a win over Kenny Florian via rear naked choke in the 4th round, Penn is looking in tip top form and that will make for a very dynamic fight. His BJJ is sublime, but Sanchez has a pretty slick game himself. He did quite well against grappling phenom Marcelo Garcia in Abu Dhabi, and a great job against the talented and super-heavy Roy Nelson in Grappler’s Quest. Again Sanchez’s big heart allows him to get past any disparities he faces in size, strength and skill.

All that being said, have to go with Penn in this one still. BJ Penn by decision in a very fast paced, dynamic bout where both fighters go hard for 25 minutes.

Diego Sanchez appears to be taking training for his upcoming bout with Clay Guida quite serious. Good thing too, because Guida is a very game opponent and one of the few fighters who can make the level of intensity and aggressiveness Sanchez brings to the fight. It is akin to the bout between Guida and Roger Huerta, in both fighters have a huge desire to win and keep trying to push the pace.
But in this bout with Sanchez and Guida, it is Sanchez who has a clear edge in BJJ skill and an advantage when it comes to striking. Wrestling-wise Sanchez is solid but Guida has a tenacity and technique to his takedown that will likely bring him ahead in that category. Only problem is holding Sanchez down if he floors him with a double or single-leg takedown, and avoiding the barrage of subs Sanchez will attempt from his back.
Sanchez has the edge from the top position and standing position, but even from his back he will be quite dangerous. Striking, submission attempts, scrambles and sweeps are all part of an arsenal that Sanchez will use. He’s nothing but shy in the cage to use all tools within the rules to get the job done. That hyper-aggression and focussed energy on winning will likely give him the nod in this bout.
I also liked how in this video Bas Rutten references the fact that Sanchez use to ask for Rutten’s guidance on what he was doing wrong in his fights. Despite having a perfect undefeated record at the time, Sanchez was continually seeking the advice of vets in the game like Rutten. It appears his attitude of looking to become a champion and best ever is still strongly imprinted in his mind. If he continues to have that never-ending attitude towards learning in the sport he has a good chance to wear some heavy UFC gold at lightweight.

On his next fight:

I’m fighting in May, can’t really say too much about it yet because it hasn’t been announced yet (rumored to be Frankie Edgar). It’ll be a good fight, I think a lot of people will be excited about it.

On Diego Sanchez at lightweight:

I think that’s good, Diego has been one of the best 170 pounders for a long time, just like I was when I came down. I think he’ll definitely make some waves in that division.

Diego Sanchez was successful in his debut last night, scoring a three round unanimous decision victory over Joe Stevenson in the main event of UFC 95 at the O2 Arena.

Dropping down to get to the Top

Diego Sanchez cuts to lightweight in search of a UFC title

“The Nightmare” Diego Sanchez is looking to cause a huge scare at 155 as he drops down to the lightweight division to fight Joe Stevenson. Hungry and revitalized at lightweight, Sanchez is in search of his first title shot. After mulling over his career, he decided that the best thing to do for achieving his dream of being a UFC champion would be to move down. He’s intensely training in the mountains of Lake Tahoe, Nevada on his journey to reach his goal.

How do you feel dropping down to lightweight?

I’m feeling extremely confident about dropping down to 155. I’ve always fought 170 weighing around 170, I never really cut weight, the only weight I would cut was maybe like 8 pounds of fat from eating fat after the fight. I was a small 170 pounder, when I fight Fitch he easily had 20 pounds on me. I’ve fought bigger guys, all of the top guys at 170, now dropping down I’m going to have more power, stronger and faster. For the longest time I didn’t want to drop because I was doing just fine and was comfortable at 170. Now, it’s the smartest move in my career. I’m undefeated at this weight class, I get to go down and raise my stock in the sport of MMA. It was always in the back of my mind that I could make 155, it’s just more discipline and it just comes down to diet.

How did this opportunity at lightweight come about?

I was going to fight Thiago Alves and I got injured one of my ribs. I was trying to think of who I was going to fight next and I wanted to get back as soon as I could. I was thnking about it and I decided to just do it. I thought it was the best thing for me, I couldn’t really think of anybody at 170 to fight. I just think it’s a faster path to a title shot at 155. Then I also told myself, “You know, if you’re going to make 155, now is the time.” I’m 27 and I could still do it, once I get into my 30s it’s going to be harder to make that weight. I could eventually go back up to 170 at that time, and so it was better to do it now and I can have a chance to be a champion at 155 and later down the road be the champion at 170.

Have you done a test cut?

Oh that would be impossible man. I only have so much time and every day is getting off a little bit of weight at a time, that’s the way you do it smart. You take your time. Some people said try and do a test cut, but I’m not going to do it like that. Because I’m going to it like that because I’m going to get down as low as I can, I’ll probably get down to 165 and do a 9 pound cut. I want to put on as much weight as I can, I want to be the biggest I can be without losing any of my conditioning and my endurance.

Is Joe Stevenson who you wanted to fight first at 155?

Personally I asked for Kenny Florian first. They didn’t want to give me that fight for some reason. There were other guys I wanted to fight too like Nate Diaz. But Joe is one of the toughest guys at 155. He is coming off a loss to BJ Penn and then a loss to Florian, but besides that he’s beaten a lot of tough guys at 155 in impressive fashion. So I’m excited for this fight, he’s a great fighter and a real tough guy. That was the fight they proposed, it’s a great fighter for the UFC, the original The Ultimate Fighter versus the winner of season two of The Ultimate Fighter. Makes for a good fight, makes for a good Spike TV fight too, so everything worked out.

You mentioned Kenny Florian, you wanted to fight him because if you scored the win you’d instantly gain huge status at lightweight?

Exactly. Regardless, I’ve already beat Kenny Florian, so it doesn’t matter what anybody says. I’ve been fighting 170 pounders. I think as long as I decisively beat Joe Stevenson I think that puts me directly in the number one spot. If I have to fight Kenny Florian to prove it again I’d love to do that. I honestly think the toughest guy at 155 is Sean Sherk and he’s called me out already so I might have to fight him. But if I could fight Kenny Florian and it’d be a bigger fight or a number one contender’s fight, that’s what I want. I want BJ Penn. Especially watching him tap out against GSP, that’s my strength, I don’t get tired in the cage. I’ve never gotten tired in my whole career in the UFC, that’s my strength, my conditioning—I get stronger as the fight goes on. To see BJ tired in the second round in the most important fight of his life shows me what kind of conditioning ethics he has as a champion, and that’s a person I’m going after.

So after watching that fight, did you think you can definitely be champ at 155?

You want to know what I said after watching that fight? I said a fight with BJ Penn and me would go into the fourth round because I’m going to put a heck kof a lot more pressure than GSP did and I’ll go for the finish.

What are you advantages over Joe Stevenson?

I think being mentally strong, more confidence. He’s coming off two losses, he got stopped in both fights. I am very mentally strong, I come in prepared in the best shape and ready to fight, and I leave it in the Octagon. My fans love me and love watching me fight because I leave it in the Octagon every time. I fought Kokscheck with a staph infection and I was still sick and I still left in Octagon to the best of my abilities. I was sick and that was probably my worst fight, but besides that all my fights have been exciting. I

England has some very enthusiastic fans. Is the London crowd going to pump you up? How do you feel about fighting in London?

I’ts going to be awesome. The song that I’m coming out to is going to rock, they’re going to be so into it. I’m going to be the last person to come out, so it’s going to be a dream come true. I vowed to myself to stay disciplined on my diet and make sure I make the weight the right way, because I just try and drain myself out I could drain my energy system and I’m not going to do that, I’m going to do it smart.

Jatinder Dhoot is the co-creator of the MMA trivia application for the iPhone and iPod touch.

“I’m training hard and will be dropping down to fight at 155,” noted Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez on his Myspace page. This is a great opportunity for Sanchez, who has had trouble defeated top tier 170 pounders such as Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck. At 155 there is a lot of room for growth and some great potential matchups for the Mexican-American welterweight turned lighweight. 

For instance, a rematch with Kenny Florian would make for a very intriguing battle. Both fighters have improved drastically since they fought at The Ultimate Fighter finale, but Florian’s improvement has been 10-fold over that period of time. It’s intersting because Florian, a natural lightweight was on The Ultimate Fighter 1 with Sanchez in the 185 pound division. Both fighters now have a chance to test their metal against one another at 155.

Additionally an intriguing battle of Mexico could ensue with Roger Huerta and Sanchez. Both fighters are very entertaining and could potentially headline a card in Mexico one day. They both have a similar style in that they’re super aggressive, never stop coming forward, and won’t give an inch. It would be an instant classic.

A fight with BJ Penn would also be a great battle for Sanchez. While Penn would be the favorite in such a battle, Sanchez’s sheer will and skill would make it a very intriguing fight.

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP

UFC 90: SILVA vs. COTE

JOSH “ KOS ” KOSCHECK vs. THIAGO “PITBULL” ALVES

Welterweight contender Diego Sanchez was forced to withdraw from his UFC 90 bout against Thiago Alves due to torn rib cartilage, but the October 25^th co-feature bout is not lost, as standout 170-pounder Josh Koscheck has stepped up to face Brazil’s “Pitbull” in an equally intriguing welterweight matchup. The UFC will make its historic first trip to Chicago this fall when it presents UFC 90: SILVA vs. COTE live from Allstate Arena on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008.