More than a decade after he defeated Kenny Florian on The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale in Las Vegas, Diego Sanchez will make his 22nd appearance in the Octagon on Saturday.
Sanchez (25-7) is scheduled to make his featherweight debut against Ricardo Lamas (15-4) at UFC Fight Night in Monterrey, Mexico. Assuming Sanchez, 33, makes weight on Friday, the fight will mark the fourth weight class he's competed in during his UFC career. Only one other fighter has ever competed in as many divisions and, ironically, it was Florian.
Florian, however, failed to earn a win at all four weights. Sanchez, who fights out of Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has. His victory over Florian at TUF 1 was at middleweight. He's 7-2 as a welterweight in the UFC and 5-5 as a lightweight, including a UFC title bid against B.J. Penn in 2009.
The chance to write a bit of history has Sanchez motivated ahead of this weekend -- as does the fantastic opportunity to make an instant splash at 145 pounds. Lamas is the No. 5-ranked featherweight in the world according to ESPN.com.
Sanchez spoke to ESPN about this opportunity against Lamas and what went behind his decision to drop to 145 pounds.
First things first, how has the cut to featherweight been for you?
It's going great. I'm right on track. I took five months to do this weight cut. I was coming off an injury and while I was injured, I decided to drop a weight class. I had a lot of time and I'm ahead of schedule.
Why make the move to featherweight now, at this point in your career?
I was between fights and when a fighter is between fights he will do everything he can to keep that residual income. Any kind of work we can get, we take. So, in the meantime, I was doing seminars, traveling, and I came across a sponsorship deal. I wasn't in top shape but I told these guys, "Give me a shot, I'll actually take your product, I'll lose weight and give you before and after shots." I went forward with it and was dieting real hard and at the one-month mark, it was just easy to lose the weight. I was able to get down to about 175 pounds, I was there for a while, and that was when I was like, "[Interim UFC champion] Conor McGregor walks at 175 and he makes 145. There's no reason I can't make the same sacrifice and do it, too." I want to be known as a legend in this sport and I've been around for a while. I've fought in three weight classes. Let's make it four and I'll be the first to ever win in all four.
So, what are you weighing now as the fight gets closer?
The classic question. Everybody is asking me that question. Finally, for once in my life, the question is not, "When is your next fight?" That's been the question for the last 10 years. Now, it's "How much you do weigh?" I'm in the 160s. [Editor's note: This interview took place on Nov. 9. On Wednesday, Sanchez posted a video saying he weighed 157.8 pounds.] It varies from 169 to 163. It just depends on my sodium intake and my carbohydrate intake. I'm still looking at an 18-, 19-pound weight cut, but I'm starting that now and I'm less than two weeks out. I prepared and trained myself to be in the best shape of my life for this reason. I know I'm going to have a pretty strenuous weight cut. I'm going to have to recover from that weight cut and the only thing that's going to do that is me being in the best shape of my life.
You're facing a very high-ranked opponent right out of the gate. You thinking about a title shot at this point in your career or something else motivating you?
I look up to fighters like Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. A lot of the fighters that fought into their older age and for me, as a warrior, I just love it. I love the challenge. I don't plan on quitting any time soon. I want to fight as long as I can. I always told myself at 37, I'll reassess things and see if it's time to hang it up. Right now, I feel good. I really liked the transition Demian Maia made from 185 pounds to 170. I plan on doing the same thing as a featherweight.
You are a fan favorite and the reason for that is when you fight, there's action. You've spoken on this before, but at this stage in your life, are you comfortable with the brawling fighting style?
It's a good question because it does change. It really does. For me, having my daughter two years ago, that has been a real change. Like, "OK, you're going to take this damage but you need to be healthy for your daughter." It's been in the back of my mind for the last two years. And that's one of my evolutions, is trying not to get hit so much. At the same time, you look back on my fights, leading up to the B.J. Penn fight, I had never really taken damage at all. B.J., yeah, he put an ass-whupping on me. Martin Kampmann, that was a war. Jake Ellenberger, that was a war. Then I didn't take damage until Gilbert Melendez. I don't want to take damage anymore. I want to fall off line and get the takedown when I have the opportunity. That's something that should change from 155 and 170 pounds. These guys at 145 are smaller. I'm trying to avoid damage, but if it gets nitty-gritty -- and you guys know what nitty-gritty is -- when it's down to the wire and it's time to go, I'll still take some hits. I'll still bite down on my mouthpiece and go for it because I'm a fighter. I'm a warrior.