UFC 135 Fight Card: Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez, Early Head To Toe Breakdown

Matt Hughes and Diego Sanchez are scheduled to meet at UFC 135 in a fight that could propel either fighter into title contention.

Sanchez is riding a two-fight win streak, with victories over Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago. A win over Hughes would be big for Diego and probably guarantee him a top five opponent in his next fight.

A win for Hughes likely wouldn't have the same bolstering effect, since he is coming off of a first round knockout loss to BJ Penn. That probably doesn't matter much to Hughes, though. At this point in his career, he's fighting more for the sport of it than to earn a title shot.

Let's see how these two stack up...

Experience

I'm not expecting experience to be a huge factor in this fight, but if either fighter has the edge, it's got to be Hughes.

Sanchez is a seasoned UFC veteran, but Matt is one of the most decorated fighters in the organization's history.

Matt is a two-time welterweight champion, has the record for defending that belt the most times, has the record for most wins inside the UFC, and has defeated some of greatest fighters in MMA history.

Diego can't come close to matching that list of achievements.

Edge: Matt Hughes

Cardio

Hughes has good cardio. He doesn't push a furious pace, but he rarely looks overly tired. When he does look tired he manages to dig deep and not let it effect his performance.

That said, his cardio is not on Sanchez's level.

Diego is a cardio freak. He is always pushing a furious pace and never seems to tire.

Edge: Diego Sanchez

Striking

Hughes has never been known as a striker; he's made a career out of taking people down. Most of the time you see Matt standing with his opponent, he looks very tentative and it's obvious he wants to get the fight to the ground.

To his credit, however, Matt has improved his striking somewhat and it showed in his fights with Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida. He put on a leg kick clinic against Gracie, en route to a third round TKO. In his next fight, he rocked Almeida with a big left hook before catching a submission.

Diego has shown that he can be devastating on his feet. He has a highlight reel knockout victory over Joe Riggs and also put on a striking clinic in the first round of his fight with Clay Guida.

I think the big difference in the striking is that Diego is not afraid to let his hands go, but Hughes usually is.

The pressure that Sanchez's brings standing will make Hughes uncomfortable and he will go into wrestling mode.

Edge: Diego Sanchez

Chin

Matt Hughes has been knocked out four times in his career.

Diego Sanchez has been stopped just once and it was a doctor stoppage due to a cut.

That's all the information I need.

Edge: Diego Sanchez

Grappling

Sanchez has solid wrestling, but has consistently had trouble against high level grapplers. He's lost fights to Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch and came close to losing to Clay Guida.

Hughes is a decorated college wrestler and one of the best ever at adapting his wrestling for mixed martial arts. He is a NCAA Division I All-American and very few men have ever been able to out-grapple him in the UFC.

Sanchez might be able to use his speed advantage to make the wrestling portions of the fight closer than they would be on paper, but I think Matt will still have the advantage.

Edge: Matt Hughes

Submissions

Sanchez had quite a few submission victories early in his career, but since entering the UFC seems to have abandoned his jiu-jitsu game. Diego is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but it seems these days he prefers to ground and pound his way to victory.

Matt is probably the best submission fighter in the UFC, who is not ranked in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Hughes has 15 career wins by submission and many believe that if you were to rank him in BJJ, he would easily be a black belt.

Many of Matt's submission wins have been extremely impressive. Most notably, his far-side armbar on Georges St-Pierre.

Hughes should have the submissions advantage, but he wants to utilize it, he'll need to get top position. Matt has never shown much ability off his back.

Edge: Matt Hughes

Winner?

This is a tough fight to call.

Hughes has been out of action for a while now, so a lot depends on what kind of shape he's in and where his head is at.

Matt could pull out this win using his wrestling, but I don't see it happening.

Diego is still a young hungry competitor and I think he is going to want this win more than Hughes.

Sanchez will stay in Matt's face throughout the fight keep the former champion uncomfortable. Since losing the belt GSP at UFC 65, Hughes has not done well against really aggressive opponents.

These days, Matt looks a little bit fragile and a little bit slow when he steps into the cage, compared to when he was at the top of his game.

I see Sanchez taking this one as long as he pushes the pace and uses his speed to keep Hughes off balance.

Winner: Diego Sanchez via Second Round TKO