Diego Sanchez vs. Myles Jury set for UFC 171

We're only a couple of months removed from Diego Sanchez's memorable thriller against Gilbert Melendez at UFC 166 in Houston. While Sanchez lost the decision, he nearly pulled off a remarkable come-from-behind upset with a 3rd round knockdown of the former Strikeforce champion. Now he's been booked for another Texas card against Myles Jury as part of UFC 171:

Undefeated lightweight Myles Jury gets his toughest challenge yet at UFC 171 in Dallas against FOTN collector Diego Sanchez.

— UFC News (@UFCNews) December 12, 2013

Sanchez (24-6) dropped back to lightweight following a 2-3 run at welterweight post-title fight loss to B.J. Penn. He failed to make weight against Takanori Gomi at UFC on Fuel 8 and was highly fortunate to receive a split decision victory in Japan. His loss vs. Melendez was his 7th FOTN award, with 4 of them coming in his last 5 fights. While Sanchez's days as a contender are realistically over, he remains one of the most exciting fighters the UFC has to offer.

Jury (13-0) was eliminated from TUF 15 after losing a close decision to Al Iaquinta, the show's eventual runner-up. But he's since beaten Chris Saunders, Michael Johnson, Ramsey Nijem, and Mike Ricci over the past two years. Admittedly, the Ricci fight was particularly unpleasant viewing but that's more of an aberration than anything to suggest Jury is a boring fighter. The 25-year-old is definitely receiving a fairly significant (if not unexpected) step up in competition.

UFC 171 is scheduled for March 15th in Dallas, with Jon Jones fighting Glover Teixeira for Jones' light heavyweight title in the main event.