Diego Sanchez says he threw out his game plan against Martin Kampmann at UFC on Versus 3 and it turned the battle into a “street fight” writes HeavyMMA.com.
Some agree and others don’t that Diego Sanchez beat Martin Kampmann at “UFC on Versus 3,” but no one can deny the heart Sanchez displayed in his performance.
“I showed them once again that I’ve got a lot of heart and that I’m going to drop my balls in there. I’m going to give the fans what they want to see,” said Sanchez following the fight.
“That’s the bottom line. That was my 20th fight here in the UFC Octagon and what a way to showcase my 20th fight than with a good war? And you know what, I got the ‘W’ and that’s what matters.”
Sanchez is including his wins on “The Ultimate Fighter 1.” He was the debut season’s middleweight winner. His win sometimes gets overshadowed, if not forgotten, by Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar’s epic war on the same card.
Just five days after UFC 127 ends in Australia, the company is back in business with their third event on the Versus network, and the first of three cards slated for March.
Taking place at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, this event has been marred by injuries since the original line-up was announced. Alexandre Ferreira pulled out due to the flooding in Brazil, both Matt Brown and Matt Riddle withdrew from fighting Mark Scanlon, who ended up getting pulled entirely, Francisco Rivera was replaced by newcomer Reuben Duran opposite Takeya Mizugaki and a bout between Johny Hendricks and Paulo Thiago was taken off the card entirely when the Brazilian was forced from the fight.
Maiquel Falcao was also forced from his fight with Alessio Sakara due to an unspecified injury, at which point the UFC inked talented Matt Serra pupil Chris Weidman. The New Yorker will not only make his debut in Louisville, but he’ll also be featured on the broadcast portion of the card.
Aside from the ridiculous number of injuries that reshuffled the lineup, and the ridiculous name of the venue itself, UFC on Versus 3 actually looks like an event that has the potential to deliver an exciting night of fights.
UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez takes place Saturday night from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. featuring a monumental main event for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Here is my take on the card and who will win the main card bouts.
UFC Heavyweight Championship – Brock Lesnar (5-1) vs. Cain Velasquez (8-0): This is the biggest heavyweight bout the UFC could put together right now and Velasquez has a great chance to win the belt. The key will be for him to be able to stop the takedown attempts and keep the fight standing, where he has better striking and faster hands. Lesnar showed that he can be hurt in his last fight against Shane Carwin, but I think Velasquez has the endurance to see the victory through.
UFC Welterweight Bout – Jake Shields (25-4-1) vs. Martin Kampmann (17-3): Shields is making his UFC debut and many are penciling him in as the next to challenge Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title, but I actually like Kampmann in an upset here as he has an all-around and aggressive style that can give Shields problems. Kampmann has only lost to strikers in his career, and Shields is far from an elite striker. I like Kampmann to win by decision in this one.
UFC Welterweight Bout – Diego Sanchez (23-4) vs. Paulo Thiago (13-2): Thiago has beaten some solid contenders in the welterweight division, but he has struggled with superior grapplers, losing to Jon Fitch and Kampmann. Sanchez got dominated in his last two fights and is desperate for a win, and I think he will come out motivated and looking to control the fight from the start with his pacing and wrestling. I like Sanchez to squeak out a decision against Thiago.
UFC Light Heavyweight Bout – Tito Ortiz (16-7-1) vs. Matt Hamill (10-2): Ortiz hasn’t won a fight since 2006 and while Hamill is lacking in some key areas, I think he has a better all-around game than Ortiz, who is pretty one dimensional with wrestling as his strength. Look for Hamill to move around and work kicks before scoring some late takedowns to get a decision win over Ortiz.
UFC Heavyweight Bout – Brendan Schaub (7-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5): Schaub has a lot of promise and is an up-and-comer while Gonzaga is still holding on to a little bit of relevance, but has lost four of his last seven fights, with all of the losses coming by TKO. Schaub has won his last two fights by quick KO, so this fight should have plenty of fireworks. Look for Schaub to get the win as he has the quicker hands and is the better technical striker.
Brock Lesnar is set to defend his heavyweight championship belt Saturday night in Anaheim at UFC 121 and HeavyMMA.com was gracious enough to share a ton of great videos for this huge event, which you can find below.
Jake Shields hasn’t stepped in the Octagon one single time, but he’s already being spoken of as the next contender to Georges St. Pierre‘s welterweight throne.
Shields, who faces Martin Kampmann at UFC 121 next week, signed with the UFC this summer after leaving Strikeforce. He was the Strikeforce middleweight champion at the time, fresh off a win over former UFC star Dan Henderson.
UFC President Dana White confirmed that a Shields victory over Kampmann will likely earn him a shot at the winner of the St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck fight that takes place in December.
“If Jake Shields wins against Martin Kampmann, it’ll probably be him next,” White said at today’s UFC 124 press conference in Montreal.
Shields is in the midst of a 14-fight win streak, with victories over notable names such as Yushin Okami, Robbie Lawler, Jason Miller, Paul Daley, Carlos Condit and Henderson. He’s dropping to welterweight for his entrance into the UFC after ruling the Strikeforce middleweight class.
White originally promised a title shot to the winner of the Jon Fitch/Thiago Alves bout in August, but Fitch’s slow and plodding victory that night may have changed White’s mind. Shields will instead get the rare chance to jump right to the front of the competition and earn a UFC title shot in only his second bout for the promotion.
Some agree and others don’t that Diego Sanchez beat Martin Kampmann at “UFC on Versus 3,” but no one can deny the heart Sanchez displayed in his performance.
