We saw a passing of the guard at UFC 171 this past March when 25-year-old Miles Jury completely outclassed Diego Sanchez in a unanimous decision victory. The inaugural Ultimate Fighter winner, Sanchez struggled with his much younger adversary and dropped his second straight bout. Sanchez aims for redemption Saturday night at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs Khabilov in his hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., as he battles a fellow TUF winner, Ross Pearson in the night’s co-main event.
Since dropping back down to lightweight last year, the Jackson-Winkeljohn product has endured mixed results. He won a highly controversial decision against Takanori Gomi in Japan and then followed it up with a unanimous decision loss to Gilbert Melendez in a fight of the year candidate. Against Jury it was apparent the 32-year-old isn’t the top contender he once was. When word got out that the UFC would be making a trip to Albuquerque in June, Sanchez campaigned for a spot on the card and he got his wish.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs Khabilov Saturday on Sportsnet 360 with prelims starting at 8 p.m. EST and the main card at 10 p.m. EST
Pearson is looking to spoil the party and extend his unbeaten streak to four. After a brief run in the featherweight division, Pearson returned to 155 pounds and strung together two straight knockout victories over George Sotiropoulos and Ryan Couture. His last fight against Melvin Guillard ended prematurely when Guillard clipped Pearson with an illegal knee that resulted in the fight being stopped. Despite having 15 wins in his pro career, the 29-year-old lacks a big-name victory. A win over a veteran like Sanchez would be the breakout performance the Alliance MMA member has been searching for his entire UFC career.
Stylistically this is a very intriguing matchup as it’s likely both fighters will want to engage in a standup affair. Together, these lightweights have a combined 11 knockout victories. While Sanchez has gone the distance in his recent fights, the high altitude will add an interesting element with both fighters’ gas tanks sure to be tested. Pearson has shown recently he can finish fights, but Sanchez hasn’t been finished since his 2009 championship loss to B.J. Penn — his only career stoppage loss to date.
On The MMA Hour, Sanchez promised that “The Nightmare” would be back, a vintage version of himself that finishes fights and puts on exciting performances. Sanchez’s last stoppage victory came at the TUF 7 finale six years ago, when he knocked out Luigi Fioravanti. Aside from Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick, Sanchez is the only other active UFC fighter from the first season of TUF. While fighters such as Chris Leben, Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin have recently retired, Sanchez wants to prove he can still compete at the highest level. Despite being just 32, Saturday night’s fight is pivotal should Sanchez aim to make another title run.
Sanchez has never lost three fights in a row in his entire career. If there was ever a time for the hometown favourite to prove his relevancy in the lightweight division, it’s Saturday night.
