Diego Sanchez Feels He Would Beat Anthony Pettis Nine Times Out Of Ten
Diego Sanchez has made his name in MMA by being one of the most exciting fighters to ever grace the cage. From his early days in the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, to his classic battles with Martin Kampmann, Jake Ellenberger, Clay Guida, Karo Parisyan and Gilbert Melendez, ‘The Dream’ has seen a lot of action during his 12-year career.
Through all his epic battles, Sanchez has only ever fought for the title once. His efforts were halted against BJ Penn at UFC 107 when ‘The Prodigy’ opened a nasty cut on Sanchez, forcing the doctor to end the domination in the fifth round. Currently coming off a loss to Myles Jury, Sanchez still feels he has a lot to offer, and actually feels he would take out the current champ Anthony Pettis.
Check out what DS said while talking to MMAJunkie:
“I feel I have everything to offer [Pettis], I just haven’t got to show it yet,” he said. “I’ve shown moments of my greatness, moments in my Paulo Thiago fight, in the Gilbert Melendez fight, in the third round of the Jake Ellenberger (fight), (and) with Martin Kampmann. There’s been a lot of moments, but have I yet to put it together? No. After the Melendez fight, I was able to realize I need to be a high-level kickboxer and a high-level striker before anything, because the fight starts on the feet.”
Currently booked to face Ross Pearson at UFC Fight Night 42 and riding a two-fight losing skid, the artist formerly known as ‘The Nightmare’ has a long way to go before he gets a title fight. Many fans questioned the veteran warrior’s motives after his lacklustre performance against ‘Fury’ at UFC 171, although he later revealed that a bout of food poisoning caused him to go in dehydrated and tired.
“Yeah, I have a great chin and great conditioning, but I need to be able to strike and be efficient and accurate. So that’s something I’ve finally realized, and I really went to work with my team. But I haven’t been able to show it yet. As far as wrestling and ground skills with Pettis, I think I’m on another level. He has some nice ground skills, too, but I feel like I’m on another level, and (with) size and strength, I feel that’s a fight I win nine out of 10 times.”
It’s a well-known fact that Sanchez can take a hell of a punch, but it takes so much more to hang at the top now. I’m intrigued to see this newly honed stand-up that ‘The Dream’ is talking about, but 9 out of 10 times? I’m not too sure about that. He will have the perfect platform to display his striking as he goes up against noted striker Pearson, so I’ll save my judgements until that happens.
