http://www.mmafighting.com/news/2008/12/03/diego-sanchez-move-down-lightweight Diego Sanchez (19-2, 7-2 UFC) has decided to abandon his goal of taking Georges St. Pierre's title and getting revenge for St. Pierre displacing him from Greg Jackson's MMA camp. Instead, he will now pursue B.J. Penn's lightweight title. Sanchez began his UFC career by becoming the original Ultimate Fighter at 185-lbs. Sanchez defeated lightweight contender Kenny Florian at the Ultimate Fighter Finale in 2005 but was uncomfortable at middleweight and made the drop to 170-lbs. In that division he would rack up five straight wins, building a resume for himself in the UFC and lining up a title shot. In 2007 Sanchez faced arch nemesis Josh Koscheck in a rematch from their fight on The Ultimate Fighter. The two engaged in a jabbing contest that was showered with boos from the crowd throughout. Josh Koscheck took the decision win and went on to face St. Pierre at UFC 74. On the rebound Sanchez was offered a fight against rising welterweight Jon Fitch at UFC 76. The size difference between the two fighters was apparent with Fitch's wrestling smothering Sanchez en route to a split decision victory, one that Sanchez contests. The second loss reset Sanchez's welterweight title run and sent him back down to fight and defeat journeymen fighters in David Bielkheden and Luigi Fioravanti. Sanchez recently had a fight scheduled with top welterweight contender Thiago Alves but was injured in preparation for the bout and was forced to pull out of the fight. Koscheck took his place and was thoroughly pummeled by Alves. At lightweight Sanchez is expected to be a dangerous opponent for anyone in the division. <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="Txt11Gray OddBgd" width="97" height="20"> </td><td class="Txt11Gray OddBgd"> </td></tr></tbody></table>
I'm taking a wait and see approach to him at 155. The weight drop could be too much, kinda like swick at 170 doesn't look right and Brandon Vera at 205. He's looked less bulky his last 2-3 fights and his take downs have been worse than when he first joined the UFC.
He had a lot of potential coming into the UFC and now his career has sort of taken a nose dive. This seems like a desperation move. That being said, I hope he does well.
I hope he does well also, I like Diego as a fighter, he has some really good BJJ and last fight with Luigi Fioravanti he looked much better striking than he has in the past. Like Celtic Fan said, I hope he has worked on his takedowns, but maybe at 155 where he is bigger than everyone else his takedowns will be more effective.
I think this is a smart move for Diego. The lightweight division has much less talent at the top and middle as opposed to the welterweight division, and I think he can be much more successful there. I wanna see him go up against Joe Daddy at lightweight.
