Diego Sanchez Fights John Hathaway in Welterweight Return at UFC 114

When Diego Sanchez announced his plans to drop down to the 155-lb division last year many MMA pundits viewed the Ultimate Fighter winner as B.J Penn's worst "Nightmare." After defeating both Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida , Sanchez was given the first title shot of his UFC career against Penn at UFC 107 this past December.

The result surprised even Penn's biggest supporters as "The Prodigy" brutally dominated Sanchez for three rounds before finishing him in the fifth. "The Nightmare" will now look to return home to the welterweight division and work his way back into title contention.

Sanchez will meet undefeated British striker John Hathaway in his first trip back to the 170-lb weight class.

The bout was announced on Sanchez' twitter page and looks to be taking place at UFC 114 in Las Vegas on May 29.

Sanchez is 7-2 in the UFC's welterweight division with back to back losses to top ranked AKA fighters Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck . Prior to those defeats "The Nightmare" was unbeaten inside the Octagon with inspiring victories over Karo Parisyan , Joe Riggs , and Nick Diaz among others.

While he's certainly known for being one of the most exciting young stars in the sport, Sanchez will have no easy task against Hathaway. Hathaway is a well rounded competitor boasting an unblemished record. Nicknamed "The Hitman" Hathaway is 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Tom Egan , Ricky Story , and Paul Taylor .

Hathaway can be viewed as the best fighter that you've never heard of. He's relatively unknown by a majority of UFC fans, but he's every bit as talented and technically sound as some of the top fighters in the division.

It will be interesting to see how Sanchez rebounds from his last defeat and if he will be able to make an impact against the tough Englishman in May.

This article was originally featured on fiveknuckles.com