THE MMA INJURY BUG: DIEGO SANCHEZ – THE LAST OF THE SEASON ONE TUF FIGHTERS
When fans consider the season of”The Ultimate Fighter,” Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar instantly come to mind as a consequence of the immediate classic. Therefore, its only suiting the first ever Ultimate Fighter be the last to depart the UFC. No, I’m not talking about Forrest Griffin. The fight between Bonnar and Griffin during the TUF’s Season 1 Finale single-handedly helped bring the UFC to the mainstream. Dana White later known as it Zuffa’s”Trojan Horse”. However, in doing so, it overshadowed the fact that Diego Sanchez was in fact the first ever Ultimate Fighter winner, having conquered Kenny Florian to take home the middleweight TUF crown before in the evening. With all the former cast members on the show either retired or no longer employed with the UFC, the sole exception remains to become Sanchez. The first to be crowned remains to be the last to grace the Octagon. When the contestants were first announced for”The Ultimate Fighter 1,” Sanchez was the fighter with the most hype surrounding him. Since the undefeated King of the Cage winner, he backed up that hype at the Octagon winning all four of his struggles, with three first-round stoppages including a entry over Florian from the Finale. The true principal event of the card has been fully overshadowed as Rich Franklin scored the biggest win of his career at the time over Ken Shamrock. For the average battle enthusiast Sanchez dominance of the show is easily forgotten as TUF 1 seems like it was forever ago. A lot can happen over a decade, and Sanchez’s lengthy r??sum?? proves it. He has won a lot of conflicts and dropped some, hopped divisions, got sailed for bud, made six”Fight of the Night” bonuses and two”Battle of the Year” (2006 Karo Parisyan, 2009 Clay Guida) honours, missing a lightweight title tilt to then-champ BJ Penn, altered his nickname in the”Nightmare” into the”Dream” and back into the”Nightmare” again and let’s not forget about him inventing the Yes! Cartwheel, just to mention a few. Overall going to war inside the Octagon on 21 distinct events amassing as 14-7 record. According to his age and durability it was almost expected that Sanchez is going to be the final fighter we see within the Octagon and rightfully so. Much was said about the whole cast of the series to the extent that Dana White said that he had been essentially looking to induct the whole TUF 1 throw to the UFC Hall of fame. It has been a well documented success story worthy of fairy tale type ending. But what remains to be viewed from the die hard MMA fans is… IMG_1728Will Diego Sanchez go out with a swan song of epic proportions in hopes of building upon The Ultimate Fighter Seasons 1 cemented legacy? Diego Sanchez would tell you YES! YES! YES! Considering Sanchez’s recent time for a fighter, it is more unlikely that anything of significance will come from the rest of the time of his once famed career. The likely scenario and eventual end game is identical to that of the vast majority of the rest of the TUF 1 cast members. The consensus is that many of the TUF 1 cast members moved outside with a whimper facing the exact same troubling realities that Sanchez now faces on a daily basis: accidents and age. The majority of the contestants basically were forced into retirement. As fans of the UFC, let us expect Diego Sanchez may break this tendency and go out with a bang as it is likely he won’t go out anywhere close to the top. Finishing on a winning note is the ideal case scenario for”The Nightmare” at this stage in his profession. Taking a snapshot of Sanchez’s professional career, it is likely he’ll depart the UFC kicking and screaming like others before him. What remains to be informed is how and if. One can’t deny it. The writing is on the wall with no real hope of championship aspirations in the near future. Settle back and revel in the final of this TUF 1 display. However, dependent on Diego’s Sanchez latest turns of a events in his profession prepare for a sad ending. The dropping down in weight classes and layoff because of rehabbing injuries it’s developing a recipe for failure. Essentially it will not be a dream come true for your nightmare. Quoting Connor McGregor at 2013:”The man is a has-been.” IMG_1727Sanchez is expected to face Ricardo Lamas in a featherweight bout on November 21, 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America two Finale. This will be Sanchez debut at featherweight despite the fact he was the middleweight TUF 1 champion. Sanchez is expecting to take a run at championship glory despite facing the longest layoff of his professional MMA profession (1 year 4 Months) and in 33 years old. The layoff is due to a broken collarbone suffered in training. Many pundits charge the statement that he’s dropping a weight class as a way to acquire an eventually struggle against Connor McGregor. However, many MMA handicappers see this because of weakness as an effort by Sanchez to stay relevant. Though many MMA mainstream fans fail to crown Diego Sanchez since the original Ultimate Fighter, he’s out lasted them all. Being the youngest of the TUF 1 boxers it continues to work in his benefit but he is fighting the age old question of time. Regardless of how durable Sanchez could be, it remains to be seen if he could pass that last test. As his admirable profession rolls , it is evident Sanchez is no longer immune from the injury bug. Still, there needs to be something said to be the last of a dying breed. That feat alone is deserving of all our respect since it’s left us with no doubt he will always remain to be the toughest of the TUF. The first Ultimate Fighter to be plotted within the Octagon and the last to leave.
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