The Downfall of Diego Sanchez
by Jack Slack on Feb 12, 2012 10:44 AM EST
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Diego Sanchez will forever be remembered as one of the most exciting fighters in early Zuffa years of the UFC, his mix of incredible cardio and borderline fool-hardy grit ensure that almost all of his fights have been a spectacle to behold. Of late though, Sanchez is coming off of two hard losses to John Hathaway and BJ Penn, a journeyman quality win in Paulo Thiago, and an extremely questionable victory over Martin Kampmann which exposed more holes in his game than it did return him to form. So what happened to the Diego Sanchez that swarmed all over Nick Diaz and won our hearts on the Ultimate Fighter with his bizarre personality and real world fighting skills? Diego Sanchez struggles with distance, and it has been picked up on and exploited by three of his last four opponents. Is Jake Ellenberger the kind of fighter to do the same? Probably not, but he has more than enough tools to make Sanchez struggle in other ways.
A quick look through Diego Sanchez's successful fights reveals his modus operandi; the man is an animal, constantly moving forward and swarming on opponents with punches until he gets them to the mat where his effective ground and pound and slick Jiu Jitsu can be utilized. One of Diego's best matches was his defeat of Nick Diaz, in which he would throw some big punches then literally dive at the much taller man's legs. Once he got Diaz to the mat Diego was relentless, stacking Diaz up in guard and dropping from his feet back to his knees with huge elbows. While Diaz was never in danger of being stopped, it is certainly the most ineffectual we have seen his guard look.
However against BJ Penn, Diego Sanchez shot 27 takedowns, succeeded in none, and was pounded on the feet constantly. Now BJ Penn is a marvelous athlete, but to write off his natural abilities as the reason he could do this to Sanchez when other great athletes like Nick Diaz couldn't is just downright moronic. BJ fought the perfect gameplan against Sanchez which from the get go seemed to be about pressure. Throughout the fight BJ Penn backed Diego on to the cage, but instead of leading waited for Diego to charge him. When Diego did charge, BJ would take one or two shuffles back to avoid the first attack, slip the second and counter - and it worked. Every time.
The reason this happened is because Diego relies on swarming opponents to get the takedown, every one of his previous defeated opponents had been distracted by his rushes with his hands and had left their hips exposed for him to shoot on. The thing is that Diego can hit with power, when he's standing still and swinging, but becomes a rigid arm-puncher when he attempts to strike at long distance. Just look at how he pushes his punches at Penn, it's almost Forrest Griffin-esque, and certainly nothing for Penn to worry about. Additionally his straights are slow and predictable - in his fight with BJ, Diego threw the same combination multiple times in every one of the five rounds. BJ continued to either counter it, or move out of the way with ease.
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I wouldn't be so hard on the guy.
He’s got 4 career lost and all to top guys besides maybe Hathaway, who maybe not elite is still a great fighter. Then you look at his other loses Fitch, Koscheck, BJ. There’s no shame in any of these.
I think you’re being a little hard on the guy. Every fighter can improved one way or another.
I'm not taking away from his accomplishments
Just pointing out his weaknesses.
I really enjoy watching him fight because of his intensity and downright strangeness!
That Fitch fight was surprisingly close.
by discoandherpes on Feb 12, 2012 1:33 PM EST up reply actions
so surprisingly close that it was scored a split-decision! :)
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I didn't remember it was a split decision
A tiny bit of a reach, though Sanchez was definitely the aggressor in the fight. He didn’t do poorly from his back either.
by discoandherpes on Feb 13, 2012 2:03 AM EST up reply actions
Fitch landed the better shots though.
I don’t think Diego should be rewarded for failed Kimura attempts.
There's no moral order at all. There's just this: can my violence conquer yours?
by ElliotMatheny on Feb 13, 2012 4:34 AM EST up reply actions
I kind of figured that
We’ve had this discussion about damage vs. offense a million times though.
by discoandherpes on Feb 13, 2012 8:10 PM EST up reply actions
Should've lost to Kampmann
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Kampmann gave the win away.
Nobody to blame but himself. He did the same thing against Shields, although in a slightly different way.
by paythefighters on Feb 12, 2012 4:47 PM EST up reply actions
So you scored it for Diego?
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by Sweet Scientist on Feb 12, 2012 4:59 PM EST up reply actions
How?
By punching Diego in the face more than he was hit and defending almost all of his takedowns? It seems to me he did the opposite of what he did in the Shields fight (playing to his opponent’s strengths), and still got screwed.
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by Patrick Wyman on Feb 12, 2012 5:18 PM EST up reply actions
The word "robbery" gets thrown around a lot around here
and often incorrectly, but that fight was a robbery.
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by Dave Strummer on Feb 12, 2012 10:42 PM EST up reply actions
Watching that in the stands and hearing his name read on the decision still leaves me lost as to what those judges were thinking.
by Empty Thoughts on Feb 12, 2012 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
what knee?
are you talking about?
by OneFitchTwoFitchRedFitchBlueFitch on Feb 12, 2012 12:55 PM EST up reply actions
i was talking about hathaways
until i saw the one below.
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by gspmademegay on Feb 12, 2012 1:12 PM EST up reply actions
i like Sanchez hes exciting
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Diego has been working on his punching accuracy with Jardine
There's no moral order at all. There's just this: can my violence conquer yours?
by ElliotMatheny on Feb 13, 2012 4:36 AM EST up reply actions
That's just sad to watch.
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by Sweet Scientist on Feb 13, 2012 7:49 AM EST up reply actions
Rock-a-by Vera, please do not ail,
you don’t have to worry about the tornado of fail
There's no moral order at all. There's just this: can my violence conquer yours?
by ElliotMatheny on Feb 13, 2012 12:24 PM EST up reply actions
"We're making meth here, not space shuttles."
by THEFILMGUY on Feb 12, 2012 1:13 PM EST reply actions 3 recs
he's a head case
I'm gonna give you three seconds; exactly three-fucking-seconds to wipe that stupid looking grin off your face or I will gouge out your eyeballs and skull-fuck you!
I can't say anything
I literally have to get myself, over the top pumped up before I do any kind of competitions with a lot of spectators. Otherwise, I get soooo nervous. I’ll listen to hype music, talk shit back and forth with people, anything to get me emotional and ready
by OneFitchTwoFitchRedFitchBlueFitch on Feb 12, 2012 1:46 PM EST up reply actions
I see many similarities between Sanchez and Diaz
How come he didnt get close to become as famous as Nick is? He was even tested with the same marijuana metabolite case once..
He seems to be a genuinely hard guy to fight with and btw. i think he gave by far the biggest punishment for Nick too.. so how come this guy is not really famous?
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Diego has been a bigger name than Diaz for quite some time.
Diaz wasn’t considered a top fighter until recently and Diego is one of the ultimate fighter original winners. I think he’s probably got more name value with casual fans than Nick.
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by Sweet Scientist on Feb 13, 2012 7:57 AM EST up reply actions
Not anymore
BJ kicked it out of him
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That he did. BJ just ate his soul.
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by Sweet Scientist on Feb 13, 2012 7:14 PM EST up reply actions
watched it yesterday. That was a fucking beatdown
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by Our Bovine Public on Feb 13, 2012 7:23 PM EST up reply actions
even Herb Dean looks disappointed.
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by Victor Rodriguez on Feb 13, 2012 6:01 PM EST up reply actions
Sanchez didn't deserve his shitle tot against BJ
and hell be a middle of the pack WW from here on out.
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That kick was wicked
and shocking. I had never seen BJ use a head kick up to that point.
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Seriously. BJ Penn throws his first head kick ever and it lands so cleanly it opens up the Grand Canyon in Sanchez’s head.
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It's one of the most awkward, yet extremely effective kicks I've ever seen in my life
There's no moral order at all. There's just this: can my violence conquer yours?
by ElliotMatheny on Feb 13, 2012 4:37 AM EST up reply actions
I can almost hear him yelling "HIII YAH!"
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by SanFranpsycho on Feb 14, 2012 12:21 PM EST up reply actions
What's funny about that kick
is that it’s really not good technique. His hips don’t turn, and he’s kicking up more than sideways, but it lands just right and cuts him up.
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plus BJ hops up into the air to land it.
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Yup, it always amazed me how ugly that kick really was.
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by Sweet Scientist on Feb 12, 2012 9:52 PM EST up reply actions
Its crazy slowed down
you can actually see the vagina form on his head.
I'm gonna give you three seconds; exactly three-fucking-seconds to wipe that stupid looking grin off your face or I will gouge out your eyeballs and skull-fuck you!
the only question is does Ellenberger KO Sanchez or does this fight last 3 brutal rounds for Sanchez?
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I'm of the "three brutal rounds" school of thought
Diego’s never been KO’d, and while Ellenberger’s power is certifiably soul-crushing, I’d err on the side of caution in my prediction. If I had to put a number on it, I’d say 30-26 or 29-27 Ellenberger.
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by Patrick Wyman on Feb 12, 2012 9:58 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed, I could see Diego knocked out, but I'll probably go with him hearing the final bell. Dude is tough to finish.
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by Sweet Scientist on Feb 12, 2012 10:08 PM EST up reply actions
maff
So, Ellenberger crushes Diego, but somehow, one of the rounds is scored 9-all (29-27)? Mayhaps you simply meant 30-27, Ellenberger as your second estimation?
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I guess he was thinking of Sanchez getting a round and losing the two others with one 10-8 round.
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by Sweet Scientist on Feb 13, 2012 12:50 AM EST up reply actions
I can go into more detail
I think Ellenberger has enough power to seriously hurt Diego in a round and do enough to deserve a 10-8. Kampmann and Thiago both owned on him in the first rounds of their fights, and Ellenberger is a) a fast starter and b) has much better power in his strikes, hence the 10-8 in both my suggested scores. I also assume that Ellenberger has enough left in the tank to win the second, as well. The question, in my mind, is whether Diego can use his superior cardio to take the third, hence the two possibilities I raised. I realize this is a rather specific prediction; more generally, I’d just say that Ellenberger wins a decision since Diego’s too tough to finish.
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by Patrick Wyman on Feb 13, 2012 2:15 AM EST up reply actions
as far as i have seen the start of both tend to be quite hard
but Jake to me seems slowed down by the second..
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you didnt intend this to sound
the way it did, did you?
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by gspmademegay on Feb 13, 2012 9:39 AM EST up reply actions
lol
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by Our Bovine Public on Feb 13, 2012 4:24 PM EST up reply actions
Solid follow-up
That is indeed a specific prediction: I like your moxie, sir. The analysis is reasonable.
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People are forgetting that Ellenberger doesn't necessarily have great cardio
Even though he should be the favorite, don’t be surprised if he gets a ten eight first then drops the second two to Sanchez’s superior cardio.
by discoandherpes on Feb 13, 2012 2:04 AM EST up reply actions
Could definitely happen
But his cardio held up against Rocha, even if that wasn’t exactly a barnburner of a fight.
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by Patrick Wyman on Feb 13, 2012 2:19 AM EST up reply actions
Exactly thats what i was also pointing at
as i have noticed it.. and Diego is a pretty intense guy as far as i have seen to keep pushing in all 3 rounds..
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i have watched some of their fights..
the thing is, that the style of these two guys is quite similar in my opinion. But the big difference is, that as i have notices, Ellenberger may not have that good cardio and if things dont go his way he tends to slow down.. I think this will be a full round fight and although Ellenberger hits more accurately it may be, that the cardio and heart will decide this fight…
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Not sure if you've all seen it, but Diego's appearance on last week's MMA Hour,
with Helwani, was both rambling and amazing. Dude was confessing his sins, talking about how fucked he’s been over the past two or three years, and his efforts to get his life in order. Pretty raw openness from Diego, I’d recommend checking it out if you want to understand the last couple years of his career.
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by Kwisatz Haderach on Feb 12, 2012 10:39 PM EST reply actions
just listened.
most of it was pretty standard-fell in love with fame, parties, ladays. but he talked about a girl tracking him down with this kid, who looked just like him (minus the forehead vag, im assuming). so he starts raising the kid, gets married to another girl, babys momma gets mad and takes kid, and the custody battle reveals kids not baby nightmare dream. so yeah, that would be distracting.
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by gspmademegay on Feb 13, 2012 10:48 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, that's a pretty messed up situation.
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by Kwisatz Haderach on Feb 13, 2012 2:47 PM EST up reply actions
great article
I ain’t even mad that I had to go to another website to finish it
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by Our Bovine Public on Feb 13, 2012 8:02 AM EST reply actions
i always rec Jack Slack
because i know that
by Cindjor on Feb 14, 2012 12:58 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
All my casual fan friends know who Sanchez is. (Although there was some recent confusion over what his nickname is now nickname.) As opposed to say Frankie Edgar, Dominick Cruz, etc. It would be good for the UFC is he went on a hot streak again, but it really seems up in the air right now.
This is obviously a huge fight for him.
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by Psychic Octopus on Feb 13, 2012 2:19 PM EST reply actions
for anyone that cares
Sanchez vs Riggs is free on UFC.com this week
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by Our Bovine Public on Feb 13, 2012 6:53 PM EST reply actions
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