UFC 107 Video: Diego Sanchez Already the Champion in His Mind?
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11/28/2009 10:50 AM ET By Michael David Smith
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- Michael David Smith
- Michael David Smith is FanHouse's Lead Blogger
The UFC is out with its latest promotional video, this one hyping the main event for UFC 107, Diego Sanchez vs. B.J. Penn for the lightweight championship of the world. And the video includes a rather strange quote.
"In his mind," the narrator tells us, "Diego 'Nightmare' Sanchez is already champion."
Really? Sanchez is already the champion in his mind? In his mind he doesn't actually have to beat Penn before getting the title belt? I suppose I could see the "in his mind he is already champion" line being used for someone like Shogun Rua -- who lost a controversial decision in his fight with light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida -- but it doesn't make much sense for Sanchez.
Somehow I don't think Sanchez himself would actually say that he's the champion in his own mind. He knows he has the toughest test of his career when he takes on Penn, and Sanchez is an underdog for a reason.He'll wait until he actually beats the champion before he makes any claims about being the champion.
Read More: MMA Videos UFC News B.J.+Penn, B.j.Penn, Diego+Sanchez, DiegoSanchez, UFC+107, Ufc107
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Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Penn is going to outclass Sanchez in this fight. Diego has a tendancy to want to exchange and if he does that against BJ Penn he will get knocked out or rocked and submitted. I see this as an easier fight for Penn than the Florian fight and that was as one sided a beating as we've seen all year. I'm not saying that Sanchez won't come to fight and he will likely have his moments but BJ Penn is a different animal than Clay Guida who incidentally gave Sanchez a run for his money.
I see a beatdown worse than the one Koscheck gave Sanchez ... this is going to get real ugly for nightmare. This is especially true when we see the thicker, jacked up and ripped Bj Penn we saw in the Florian fight and not the Penn we saw in the GSP fight. Diego is a good fighter but Penn is a legend and that'll be apparent come fight night.
johnny,
perfect assessment and analysis
couldn't agree more.
also, i tried replying to you during one of our conversations about sf and for some reason it never took.
i'm going to try to repost it again, do me a favor and reply if it goes through.
hey johnny,
i never said the sf cbs event sucked, i was just not overly impressed with it.
for me, it really wasn't that competitive and for me, other than shields/miller bout nothing was dramatic.
everything went as expected and according to plan.
just because fedor got a bloody nose....for me, it was, so what.
for you, it appears and i could be wrong, that because fedor and mousasi were taken to round 2 that created drama for you. because sok and rogers were able to last more than a round with 2 of the best fighters on the planet.
like i've said, if you really enjoyed sf's card and thought it was the best card of all mma this year, then cool. i thought last nights card blew that one away.
i think the sf challenger series has put on better shows than that sf cbs card. just my opinion.
and i still think ufc 100 was my favorite of the year. with the wec 42-44 following close behind.
as far as ufc 107 goes, i totally expect and actually hope bj beats the crap out of sanchez.
eventhough i'm not particularly a penn fan, sanchez tops my list as least favorite with thiago silva in second place.
other than that, so far ufc 107 is not making my toes tingle.
that would be one event that if you sent me that link you've talked about i probably would take advantage of that info.
feel free to send me that.
i'll be at a holiday party that night and won't get home till around 11:30pm'ish.
I hope the Nightmare gets in his a$$ the way GSP did!!!!!!!!
I like both. All I hope for is a classic. The UFC needs this main event to be dynamite to rebound from the recent lackluster ones.
i hope sanchez kills the body before the head. penns head looks like stewies of family guy, except penns is extra thick. kill the body sanchez.
i think sanchezs ground game is as good as penns. if sanchez isnt rocked when this fight hits the ground, hes got a good chance.
back him up, dont let him come forward, kill the body.
are you kidding... sanchez, although not bad on the ground, is nowhere near the level of world class jiu jitsu of bj. The only chance sanchez has is to beat him on his feet. besides maybe damien maya nobody in mma has the jiu jitsu of bj penn.
kidding? no , his head really does look like stewie's only thicker.
without actually looking, i'm pertty sure sanchez has a better record outside of lightweight than penn. penns jj is partially so good due to all the stretching he did in tkd; jj guys everywhere should take note.
stop penns forward motion, kill the body for a round or two and he'll have his brother, maybe mom, quit for him.
bj, you want this fight? bj... u want dis fight???
he had 5 chances to say yea. he quit.
I cant say I agree, Johnny. Penn is a damn good lightweight, but hes never really fought a relentless fighter like Sanchez. Not only does Sanchez have a size advantage, but hes got phenomenal cardio and rage. Once the bell rings, he's giving it his all from the start.
No way Penn will walk out with the belt. My money is on Sanchez by TKO.
Let's bet on it ... I'll put $500 on Penn. You want the action?
lol. J5, your a funny guy. Not that I'm making fun of you. I too think that BJ Penn will have the upper hand. Sanchez will have the edge in size and wrestling and that's about all I could think of. I hope Sanchez is a little more careful while being aggressive. He took it to Clay Guida, but was getting pretty tired towards the end of that fight.
@Richardbickle. I never knew Penn took TKD. It could definitely explain the flexibility, but the guy HAS SKILLS with BJJ. If I'm correct, BJ got his Black Belt in only 3 years(?) and right afterwards wins the BJJ Mundial. That is nothing short of impressive.
Diego won't have that big of a size advantage against Penn ... not if it's the same Penn as the Sherk and Florian fights anyway. Even if we say Sanchez has a wrestling advantage what does that mean? He certainly doesn't have an advantage in grappling (like body clinching) and I don't see him being able to take Penn to the ground.
Diego has the tendency to go in and swing like a wild man. We saw it in the Guida fight and I just think that if he goes in with that attitude against Penn that he'll be knocked out viciously. I just don't really see what he can do to beat Penn. Maybe I'm missing something but this should be a pretty easy night at the office for Bj Penn.
Diego ran from middleweight to welterweight then ran to lightweight in search of a belt.
Here is how the fight will go ... Diego will have a mean stare down as usual ... when the bell rings he will sprint out like a bull and go for a takedown right away. He'll get stuffed and he'll keep going for it and will begin to get frustrated when he can't take Penn down. They'll exchange, Penn will rock him, mount him and submit him by round 3 or 4.
Diego is predictable and Penn isn't ... Penn is a better fighter in every way possible and I see some epic PWNAGE like we saw in the Florian fight.
I don't think I could have said most of this any better. Honestly, I think Diego will try to give Penn a good fight (like I said about Florian) and that's about as much as I give him. I don't know how, but you know anything can happen in this sport right?
Unless we see another Machida vs. Shogun episode. :P
Anything can happen (gsp vs serra 1) but I'd say if they fought ten times that Penn wins nine of those. GSP is the only guy that's been able to take BJ down that easily. Sanchez is at a disadvantage in every position except maybe if he gets a takedown and by some miracle passes his guard. If Sanchez ends up on his back it's dire straights. I see the Koscheck fight all over again just ending with a submission. Sherk is a better wrestler than Sanchez and he couldn't take BJ down. Gsp couldn't take Penn down when he was fresh either. Diego can't win unless he gets a takedown and works some GnP. Easy fight for Penn.
We'll see soon enough man.
j5, you're missing a couple of things. penns good when he is going forward, stop his forward movement- push on him and he takes a lot of shots going backwards, penn has good single leg take down defense if he's on the fence. penn has no answer for double leg or high crotch.
penns biggest advantage is that extra thick head.
move penn backwards, kill the body, and forget a single leg sweep off the fence. pretty simple formula. penn gets all his momentum moving forward.
j5, you're missing a couple of things. penns good when he is going forward, stop his forward movement- push on him and he takes a lot of shots going backwards, penn has good single leg take down defense if he's on the fence. penn has no answer for double leg or high crotch.
penns biggest advantage is that extra thick head.
move penn backwards, kill the body, and forget a single leg sweep off the fence. pretty simple formula. penn gets all his momentum moving forward.
j5, you're missing a couple of things. penns good when he is going forward, stop his forward movement- push on him and he takes a lot of shots going backwards, penn has good single leg take down defense if he's on the fence. penn has no answer for double leg or high crotch.
penns biggest advantage is that extra thick head.
move penn backwards, kill the body, and forget a single leg sweep off the fence. pretty simple formula. penn gets all his momentum moving forward.