Diego Sanchez

Matt Serra defeats Georges St Pierre by TKO in round 1
- Matt Serra looked very impressive.

Kendall Grove defeats Alan Belcher by Submission in round 2
- Kendall Grove once again looking like a real contender.

Yushin Okami defeats Mike Swick by decision
- Mike Swick says to his corner "That Mother ****** is strong.

Roger Huerta defeats Leonard Garcia by decision.
Garcia's submission attempts looked good and he was tough, but Huerta was just too much for him.

Josh Koscheck defeats Diego Sanchez by decision
- Sanchez did not want to engage for some reason and Kos got the best of the stand up.

Luke Cummo defeats Josh Haynes by TKO in round 2
- Maybe it's time for Haynes to consider doing something else. He simply gets hit too much.

Thales Leites defeats Pete Sell by decision

Heath Herring defeats Brad Imes by decision
- I missed this fight. Anyone want to comment on how it went?

Hello Everyone. It's late, so I'm just going to do a brief recap. Come back later today for a full one.

Matt Serra defeated Georges St Pierre by TKO (ref stoppage). Who would have guessed? I've always said that Matt Serra was a great fighter, but didn't seem to want to finish fights when his opponent was in trouble. He corrected that tonight and took advantage of a hurt Georges St Pierre, jumped on him and didn't let up until the ref stopped it. Way to go Matt Serra! As for Georges St Pierre, I look forward to seeing how he will come back from this.

In the other big match, Josh Koscheck stayed awake just long enough to defeat Diego Sanchez in a real snore fest of a fight. For Koscheck, he had a brilliant game plan and worked it to a T. For Sanchez, the angry guy...for all his pushing and shoving and talking he had nothing for Koscheck.

Have a good night folks, I'll have full results in the morning.

Ok UFC Fans, it's event day and time for another round of UFC Predictions.

Let's start of with the UFC Welterweight Championship bout between Matt Serra and George St Pierre and see where this takes us.

Matt Serra vs Georges St-Pierre
Georges St Pierre clearly has an advantage in striking in this fight; Georges has a significant reach advantage over Serra and he knows how to use it. On the ground things get closer, with St Pierre having the advantage from the top position and Serra from the bottom. I don't believe that Matt Serra will be able to stay on top of St Pierre for any length of time, so it's going to be a long night for Matt Serra. Serra is very tough, he went 5 rounds with BJ Penn in Penn's prime. I expect him to come into this fight like a caged animal.

Prediction - Georges St Pierre by ref stoppage or KO, but remember that St Pierre got caught in a Matt Hughes arm bar and Serra is a much better BJJ technician that Hughes is.


Josh Koscheck vs. Diego Sanchez
If yesterday's weigh-in was any indication of what's to come, this is going to be an emotion fueled fight, at least for Sanchez. In case you missed the weigh-in, Sanchez pushed Koscheck and then Sanchez fell down (hilarious). You can catch it at UFC.com.

On to my prediction. Sanchez is the submission specialist and Koscheck is the super wrestler in this matchup. I put the standup as dead even. Here's the thing, Sanchez is unpredictable, fueled by passion. This is a stark contrast to Koscheck who is methodical, almost like the terminator of MMA. The short of this is that I see Koscheck putting Sanchez on his back and pounding out a victory. This fight might very well go the distance.

Prediction - Koscheck by decision or ref stoppage. Worth noting, or remembering the Joe Stevenson fight a couple of days ago. Never count out a submission guy, but I doubt that Kos will get caught in a choke.


Yushin Okami vs. Mike Swick
This could be a great fight, but I'm a Mike Swick fan...Prediction - Swick victory.

Alan Belcher vs. Kendall Grove
Prediction - Kendall Grove

Leonard Garcia vs. Roger Huerta
Prediction - Roger Huerta

Brad Imes vs. Heath Herring
Prediction - Heath Herring (I can't believe I'm giving Heath this one after his last fight, but Heath needs to be aware that this is his last chance in big time MMA).

Thales Leites vs. Pete Sell
Prediction - Pete Sell by KO.

Marcus Davis vs. Pete Spratt
Prediction - Marcus Davis ... because Pete Spratt always comes up short on fight night, despite having all the tools.

Josh Haynes vs. Luke Cummo
Tough pick, two good guys. I expect a good fight.
Prediction - Josh Haynes will out work Cummo.

I originally wrote my UFC 69 Predictions about a month ago. Now that we're a week away from the event, it's time for me to re-evalute my pridictions. I'd like to start off with:

Josh Koscheck vs Diego Sanchez

I was originally thinking that Diego Sanchez would win this by TKO or decision, but the more I read about Koscheck, the more I think he has a real chance of pulling this one off. In fact, if he's been working his standup as much as he says, I think that Koscheck may just ground and pound his way to a decision or ref stoppage.

Koscheck says that he's now spending 80% of his time training standup. His wrestling is already immaculate, he has the best takedowns of anyone at welterweight (Matt Hughes included), perhaps even the best takedowns in MMA.

I'm picking Josh Koscheck to defeat Deigo Sanchez, either by ref stoppage or decision.

UFC.com has announced the full UFC 69 Fight Card.

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP®
ANNOUNCES FULL CARD
FOR UFC 69: SHOOTOUT

GEORGES ST-PIERRE vs. MATT SERRA
DIEGO SANCHEZ vs. JOSH KOSCHECK
ROGER HUERTA vs. LEONARD GARCIA
MIKE SWICK vs. YUSHIN OKAMI
ALAN BELCHER vs. KENDALL GROVE
BRAD IMES vs. HEATH HERRING
THALES LEITES vs. PETE SELL
MARCUS DAVIS vs. PETE SPRATT
JOSH HAYNES vs. LUKE CUMMO

SATURDAY, APRIL 7

LIVE FROM TOYOTA CENTER IN HOUSTON

Yeah, you read right. Diego Sanchez tested positive for a banned substance...one of the ones you smoke...as in Cheech and Chong. Anyway, it was months ago and his 3 month suspension and $500 fine are all done. He is still ready to light up against Josh Koshcheck on April 7th.

Diego has always been known for his hard training and good habits, so we'll just let this one slide and let his in-the-ring performance speak for itself.

Straight from UFC dot com.

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® UFC 69: SHOOTOUT MAIN CARD LINE-UP

GEORGES ST-PIERRE vs. MATT SERRA
DIEGO SANCHEZ vs. JOSH KOSCHECK
ROGER HUERTA vs. LEONARD GARCIA
MIKE SWICK vs. YUSHIN OKAMI
ALAN BELCHER vs. KENDALL GROVE

SATURDAY, APRIL 7 LIVE FROM TOYOTA CENTER IN HOUSTON

I will issue my final UFC 69 Predictions probably next week. I'll be looking to return to form after picking 3 matches incorrectly in UFC 68:

FYI, I picked:
Syvia over Couture (ouch)
MacDonald over Franklin (against my better judgement, I was swayed on this one by one of our readers....)
Babalu over Lambert (probably wasn't alone on picking that one wrong).

Here are my predictions for UFC 69 being held in Texas on April 7, 2007

Georges St Pierre vs Matt Serra
- While Matt Serra is a strong BJJ player, he doesn't have the size, strength or standup of Georges St Pierre. I expect St Pierre to win by TKO, or at very least a decision.

Roger Huerta vs Leonard Garcia
- It's strikes vs submissions in this one. I believe Huerta will pull of the ref stoppage victory.

Diego Sanchez vs Josh Koscheck
- Josh Koscheck is strong and much improved since their last meeting, but I also believe that Sanchez has improved. I think Dana has Sanchez on the fast track to meeting for a title shot. I don't believe that Koscheck has enough to defeat Sanchez. Sanchez, probably by decision.

Yushin Okami vs Mike Swick
- I'm a Mike Swick fan, just ask Little Hughes. I think Swick will take Okami out quickly.

Alan Belcher vs Kendall Grove
- Kendall Grove, by any means necessary.

Brad Imes vs Heath Herring
- Six months ago, I would have given this bout to Herring easily, but now after his last dismal performance I have my doubts. I'm not going to pick a winner in this one, I just hope Heath has gotten his act together.

Thales Leites vs Pete Sell
- Pete Sell will dominate the standup and eventually knock Thales out.

Marcus Davis vs Pete Spratt
I've never been that impressed with Pete Spratt. He talks a good game and looks good in training, but has problems on fight night. I'll pick Marcus Davis to win this one.

Josh Haynes vs Luke Cummo
Josh Haynes will win this one on pure heart.

From UFC.com

Two bouts have been officially added to April 7th’s UFC 69: Shootout card at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

In a middleweight matchup between two up and coming 185-pound prospects, ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ season three winner Kendall Grove looks to improve on his spotless UFC record when he takes on always-entertaining Alan ‘The Talent’ Belcher.

Veteran welterweights will also trade blows when Marcus Davis - fresh off back-to-back wins over Shonie Carter and Forrest Petz – squares off against TUF4’s Pete Spratt.

UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre defends his crown for the first time against TUF4 winner Matt Serra in the main event of UFC 69, and the card also features a welterweight showdown between two of the division’s brightest young stars, Diego Sanchez and Josh Koscheck.

UFC 69 will feature a long awaited showdown between two Ultimate Fighter season one fighters. Josh Koscheck and Diego Sanchez. While I believe that Sanchez should be in line for a title shot, even without this bout, who can argue that it will be an unbelievable fight.

During the Ultimate Fighter season one, Sanchez defeated Koscheck by decision after a close three rounds. Considering that at the time Kos was 99% wrestler and 1% MMA fighter, it wasnt' a bad showing for Koscheck.

Since then, both fighters have been on a rampage (sorry Quinton), winning victory after victory. That is of course except for Koscheck's one sided KO loss. When I say one sided, I mean that Josh Koscheck was completely dominating the fight with Drew Fickett, when Fickett landed a big knee, then secured the victory by submission.

On the other hand, Diego Sanchez remains undefeated in his MMA career. He had an amazing victory over Karo Parisyan and an even more impressive win over Joe "Diesel" Riggs, courtesy of a big knee and some punches.

What's going to happen when these two talented fighters meet? I'm not going to give a prediction, but I want to see it unfold. Diego's striking has improved a lot since his Ultimate Fighter days and his cardio is always great. Josh Koscheck has also improved his striking and has become much more of a well rounded MMA fighter. He still has the best take downs in the sport. Absolutely ferocious!

If my memory is correct, UFC 69 will be on April 7th, in Houston, Texas. I also believe that the long awaited Matt Serra vs Georges St Pierre fight will be on that same card, assuming that St Pierre's knee injury has healed. I wonder if Dana White is setting this match up to see who will face the winner of St Pierre, Serra? I can't believe that he'd want to do that as there is probably big money on the line for a Matt Hughes, Georges St Pierre rematch.

Koscheck vs Sanchez will not end quickly like the Joe Riggs - Sanchez fight did. It will be a long fight, perhaps even going to a decision. The question is not so much who is the better fighter, but who has improved more since their last war and who wants it more on April 7th. Will Koscheck's outstanding wrestling and killer take downs be enough, or has Diego's game also improved?

What else will be featured on this card? It could theoretically be enough time for Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to be ready for a rematch with Chuck Liddell, but I don't see the UFC putting that fight on the same card as Matt Serra vs Georges St Pierre. Perhaps a second tune up fight for Rampage would be on this card though. Maybe against somebody like Forrest Griffin or Keith Jardine. Hey, that would be the fair thing to do, put Jardine up against Jackson to see who is next in line for Chuck Liddell!

Good luck to both Josh and Diego, may the best man win!

It looks like Josh Koscheck will be fighting Diego Sanchez on April 7th in Houston Texas.

Good luck to both of these fighters, I'm not sure which one I like better. Diego has faced the better competition, but Koscheck has the most amazing take downs I've ever seen!

Straight from YouTube

Sorry, this Diego Sanchez vs Joe Riggs video was removed by YouTube

First and foremost, visit our MMA Forum and post your opinions of last nights fights

Ultimate Fighter MMA Forum

Well, I'm the first to admit when I was wrong. I've been saying that Joe Riggs would run right over Diego Sanchez on December 13th. I couldn't have had it more wrong! Diego completely obliterated Diesel in about 1 1/2 minutes, knocking him out with a hard right, followed up by a knee.

I'm now officially a Diego fan. Of course I don't think he'll have a chance against George St Pierre, but I do believe that he will be a challenge for Matt Hughes, Matt Serra and a good fight for Kos.

If you have any opinions on last nights fights, or predictions for the Dec 30 card, please visit our forum at:

Ultimate Fighter MMA Forum

and of course, a short video clip. This one is Diego knocking out Karo Parisyan's tooth. Just in case you thought his use of the knee last night was a fluke!

Dec 13, 2006 Diego Sanchez will face Joe "Diesel" Riggs
The question is, who is the better fighter? Let's take a look at the top opposition each has faced.

Joe Riggs - Matt Hughes
Diego Sanchez - Karo Parisyan

They have actually both fought top guys and won and lost (well, Diego hasn't lost yet).

My personal opinioin is that Diego will lose this fight. I don't see anything in his style to submit Riggs and I think Riggs is too strong for Diego's ground and pound.

Remember ,you heard it here first.