Diego Sanchez plans move down to featherweight for return
After years of wars against the best of the best in three different weight divisions, TUF winner Diego Sanchez has struggled in recent years. Sanchez has lost three out of his last five fights, and his last win, against Ross Pearson at home in New Mexico, was one of the worst decisions of the past few years.
Sanchez has not fought since that June 2014 bout because of a broken collarbone. The exciting scrapper is healing up, however, and told John Morgan this week that he hopes to return at 145 pounds -- which would be his fourth UFC weight class.
"I'm going down to 145 and I'm going for the belt," Sanchez said.
"I'll fight any of those guys at 145. ... I want to make a run for the belt. That's my dream, to be the UFC champion, and I'm not going to give up on my dream, despite what the haters or the naysayers may say."
Sanchez, an excellent grappler and aggressive striker, has always counted self-confidence among his strongest traits. The one-time lightweight title challenger said that he became healthier while recovering from his recent injury, and realized that featherweight was a possibility while taking a new fat-burning supplement from a sponsor of his.
"The weight started coming off so fast, and one month in I was already down to 170 pounds," he said.
"I was basically as lean as I am going into a fight at 155. So, I'm like, 'Alright, I'm not even in the gym, and I'm able to get this lean right now -- 145 is realistic, now. ... I really just took it as a whole fitness approach. Let's not just tackle this injury. Let's tackle it as a whole. I'm going to attack everything in my whole body -- my energy system, my diet, my nutrition, just everything."
Sanchez does not yet have a fight scheduled, but he does have his eyes on some specific fighters at 145 pounds. For one, he'd like a rematch with Clay Guida -- who himself moved from lightweight to featherweight.
It was Sanchez's thrilling split-decision win over Guida back in 2009 that earned him a shot against then-champion BJ Penn. "The Dream" says he'd like to do it again with "The Carpenter," now that Guida is a top-10 featherweight.
"A fight I know the fans would want to see is a rematch with Clay Guida," he said.
"We put on a great fight at one point, and he's in the top-10, and he's not on my team anymore, so that's a fight that could happen."
Guida most recently fought and won last month with a unanimous decision over Robbie Peralta. Sanchez says he'd most like to fight one of that Fairfax event's headliners, Ricardo Lamas.
Lamas got caught and lost quickly to Chad Mendes in April, but is still one of the top-ranked fighters at featherweight. Furthermore, Sanchez likes Lamas' aggressive style.
"The ultimate fight that I would like the best is Ricardo Lamas," Diego revealed.
"He's coming off of a knockout loss, but the guy is a come-forward fighter. He won't try to run. This guy fights. He doesn't run away. He's not going to play the 'I'm afraid of you and I'm going to run away.' He's going to come forward, and those are ultimately the best fights for me that showcase my skills and give the fans the best fights."
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