Diego Sanchez not Dropping to Lightweight Division

“The Ultimate Fighter 1” winner Diego Sanchez (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who’s lost back-to-back fights after winning his first 17 professional bouts, will not be moving down to the lightweight division after all.

Sanchez, who publicly flirted with the idea after a split-decision loss to Jon Fitch at UFC 76 in September, will continue to compete in the welterweight division — one of the deepest in the UFC.

Sanchez recently issued a MySpace bulletin with the news. Additionally, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) was able to confirm the decision with Sanchez’s new management team at Powermoves Entertainment


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i think he will still do good that 170, diego is still a great fighter, i really dont like him much but he is a good fighter

I think he will try 1 more time in the WW and if he lose again he will have to move down.

i really think that he can be a top contender in the LW division.

I'd like to see him fight Karo again. Or what about Marcus Davis?

I don't think that size is Diego's biggest problem. His questionable striking was exposed in his fight against Koscheck. If he improves his stand-up considerably, I see very few people stopping him at welter-weight division.

Diego is a really talented fighter who brings alot of emotion to the octagon. But I just can't see him beating the elite guys in WW. He isn't far off, but he would need about 3 wins, against the top guys, just to get a title shot and I don't see that happening. At the same time I don't see him beating guys like Penn or Sherk either, although I think he would be more in the mix of title contenders at LW. I think there are alot more winable fights for him if he moves down. I comend him for not giving up, but I think he would be best suited for the lightweight division, where he would have a strength advantage.

fitch didnt exactly dominate him, and we all know about the staph for the kos fight, so its not like hes ever had a bad outing when healthy. i think he could be champ at 170 or 155 if everything fell into place for him. the guy is a good fighter despite being a bit of a weirdo, and not too well liked among the keyboard warriors.

He's young, focused, and tough as nails. But, the WW division belongs to gsp. i'm glad that he chose to stay at ww; he provides great depth and a personality that evokes a lot of hatred or love. there is no in between with him. besides, bj ia at lw. if he moves down in weight, the competition is fierce too.

I think he'd probably do better at 155 but there are still a few matches I'd like to see with him at 170 like Davis, a rematch with Kos (that fight sucked he needs to be more aggressive and I think he can get the win) even Hughes. So I'm kind of glad he's staying up. Like someone said earlier I don't really like him as a person but he's a pretty good fighter and if he is continues to lose at WW he should definitely move. I wonder if he can make the cut and still be in shape though.

sigh ... he's not the brightest crayon in the box ... he's letting his pride get ahead of him i know i wont think ne less of him for dropping he doesnt haev 2 prove nething he beat good guys at 170 ... he just cant beat the best ... he has a better chance of beating the best at 155 ... the only guys he cant beat i think is penn and sherk ... and maybe stevenson ... but w.e his career i really stopped like him after the whole kos thing he was being pretty dumb about it

He's lost two in a row now, so if he loses again isn't he done in the UFC anyway?
I guess they sometimes keep guys around after 3 losses but still it can't look good for him.

I think that sometimes look at dropping weight as an answer to their difficulties. I think there are definitely some guys who should drop weight, that they are hopelessly stuck in their respective current divisions. These guys also have the body types that would do well at a different weight, but not Diego, I think he needs to gain strength, and hand speed/accuracy. He has never been a really cut guy and improving himself with aggressive training is the only real answer I see to his recent losses. Not to mention before his loss to Kos he thought he was going to end up some kind of undefeated champion...this is just highly delusional, all the greats have and will face losses. It's what they do afterwards that truly defines them as a fighter!

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Posted by tuvok500

I think he will try 1 more time in the WW and if he lose again he will have to move down.

i really think that he can be a top contender in the LW division.

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I agree....But I also think he is a top 10 WW to. I think the staph infection and real life heavily affected him in his past 2 fights. I think once he gets back on track he will be a be a force again at WW. I still think he beat KOS and maybe even Fitch if he can get back to his old ways. He really should go back to Greg Jackson's camp and not worry that GSP is there. If anything training with GSP could help his game in the long run.

I tried to edit my post but it wouldn't let me.

So this is what it should have said.

I still think he can beat KOS and maybe even Fitch if he can get back to his old ways.

I don't think in any way he won those fights just a typo that I tried to edit out but every time I try to edit the post and add the word CAN it dels it out again.

The LW division is like asparagus to him it seems!

He wont ever be Top 5 at 170 but could easily be at 155, they will give him a can for his next fight im sure, most likely a guy from TUF6

I think its funny that people still care about him......