Winner of the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter as a middleweight, Diego Sanchez is now set to return to the division where he made a name for himself in the UFC... welterweight. Sanchez compiled a 7-2 record as a welterweight before dropping down to 155, (that’s three different weight classes if you’re counting) where he went 2-0 before getting his backside handed to him in a brutal defeat at the hands of lightweight champ BJ Penn.
Diego Sanchez Set For Welterweight Return Against John Hathaway At UFC 114
Sanchez tweeted the news last night. MMA Mania has more on the story:
After coming up short against BJ Penn in his Dec. 12 bid for the 155-pound crown, Diego Sanchez (21-3) will make his return to the welterweight division opposite John Hathaway at the upcoming UFC 114 pay-per-view from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, May 29.
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But don’t expect a warm welcome from the talented Brit.
Hathaway has been unstoppable through twelve fights. After spot-welding his elbows to the face of Tom Egan in his Octagon debut, “The Hitman” outpointed Ricky Story and Paul Taylor in the mid-to-latter part of 2009.
The six-foot-two fight phenom is considered one of the brighter prospects in the welterweight class and could vault himself into the upper tier of his division with a convincing win over Sanchez.
The folks at Mania are right. This is definitely not a fight to help Sanchez ease his way back into the 170-pound division. But really, I don’t think he needs one. He was only down at lightweight for three fights, and as most people seem to agree, his body is better suited to be a welterweight.
UFC 114 is set to be held on May 29 from Las Vegas and is expected to be headlined by the highly anticipated grudge match between Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans.
SB Nation will have more news on UFC 114 as it becomes available.
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