Diego Sanchez: Matches to Make for Him in the Featherweight Division

Inactive since a controversial decision win over Ross Pearson 11 months ago, Diego Sanchez is planning a move down to 145 pounds.

On The MMA Road Show, Diego Sanchez told John Morgan that he made the decision now that he is walking around at 170 pounds. Becoming the first fighter to win in four different UFC divisions provides motivation for Sanchez, but he is also expecting to make a run at the belt.

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I weighed out all the positives and the negatives. As a positive, I want to be one of the UFC fighters—Kenny Florian is the only UFC fighter to compete in four divisions, but he didn’t win at 185. But he competed in four divisions. I want to be the one that actually wins [in four divisions]. ... I’m going down to 145, and I’m going for the belt.

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Had the judges sided with Pearson the last time Sanchez was seen inside the Octagon, the Jackson's MMA product would be sitting on three straight losses. Since he is coming off a victory, though, Sanchez would likely get a noteworthy opponent in his featherweight debut.

At 33 years old, Sanchez should have some gas left in the tank, but time is running out for him to make another run at a UFC championship. If Sanchez is going to make some noise in the 145-pound class, he'll need to do so right away.

Here are the individuals who would make the most sense as Sanchez's first adversary in the featherweight division.

Clay Guida

In June 2009, Sanchez and Clay Guida engaged in one of the most entertaining bouts in MMA history, with the former recording a split-decision win. If the pair is going to be competing in the same weight class again, it's hard to ignore a potential rematch between the two.

Guida is already ranked in the 145-pound division, but he's coming off a ho-hum decision win over unranked Robbie Peralta. To ease Guida back into big-name opposition, it'd make some sense to match him up with a notable adversary who isn't ranked in the featherweight class.

The bout would be a big test for Sanchez in his first cut to 145 pounds. Should Sanchez have any troubles getting down to the featherweight limit, Guida's unmatched cardio would undoubtedly cause some serious problems.

At the same time, Sanchez is a former lightweight title challenger and The Ultimate Fighter winner. He's among the most popular competitors on the UFC roster, so it's unlikely that he'd be eased into 145-pound competition against a no-name opponent.

Dennis Siver vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri Winner

If we're being honest, the chances of Sanchez making a run at the 145-pound championship are slim, though he could be used as an opponent to build up rising featherweight stars at some point.

However, before that becomes a viable scenario, Sanchez has to prove he can be a legitimate high-level featherweight against a fellow veteran.

Surprisingly, as long as they were both players in the lightweight division, Sanchez and Dennis Siver never met at 155 pounds. Should Siver maintain his contender status with a win over the barely unranked Tatsuya Kawajiri, the German would be a good test for Sanchez at 145 pounds.

If that bout between Siver and Kawajiri goes the other way, Sanchez could still find himself in an intriguing grappling matchup with the Japanese standout.