Diego Sanchez in Need of a 160-Pound Weight Class

Last Saturday at UFC 114, Diego Sanchez lost a unanimous decision to burgeoning welterweight prospect John Hathaway. The general consensus of the online MMA world seemed to be that Diego needed to drop back down to lightweight, to which his frame seems better suited.

You see, last year Diego—who had competed in the welterweight division for almost his entire UFC career—dropped down to lightweight where most figured he would be a better fit, considering his size.

He had two impressive performances over Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida before being offered a shot at the lightweight champion, B.J. Penn.

In his attempt to capture the title, Diego was absolutely dominated for the entire fight. From the first minute of the first round, Penn punished Diego up until the fight was stopped in the fifth round due to a massive cut on Diego's forehead.

Not only did Diego look awful competitively, but physically he looked overly shredded and unhealthily skinny. He was completely offense-less in his fight against Penn, and was stopped for the first time in his career.

After the fight, the consensus seemed to be that Diego's body was not meant to be fighting at 155 pounds and that he should go back to welterweight where he had enjoyed most of his career's success.

Well, as stated above, Diego went back up, only to run into a larger and stronger opponent. Hathaway was four inches taller than Diego and used every inch of his reach against him.

Now, the same fans are clearly influenced by the size difference between Diego and Hathaway just as they were influenced by the sucked-up, skinny body of Diego before.

The reality is that Diego is not made for 155 or 170. He is seriously out-sized at 170—where he is most comfortable—and he is clearly not his usual sustained aggressive self at 155.

Diego is just one of those fighters who does not fit perfectly in one of the designated weight classes in MMA.

Boxing draws a lot of criticism for now having so many weight classes—as opposed to its original eight—but at least nobody is left out. If a fighter can't make welterweight anymore as he ages, he can just comfortably move up seven pounds to junior middleweight.

That, however, has shown many drawbacks, as it can take away from a fighter's discipline and allow him to cut corners in his training because he doesn't have to force himself to make a certain weight. A fighter who, with the right attitude, could fight at middleweight, can now be easier on himself and fight at super middleweight instead.

If it wasn't for all the "super" and "junior" weight classes, there would be more depth in each of the original weight classes, as fighters would have to discipline themselves enough to make the designated weight.

That being said, it is not always the case. Diego Sanchez has shown incredible discipline and mental fortitude throughout his career. He deprived his body immensely in order to make lightweight; he has tried to bulk up to fit in at welterweight. None of it resulted in a suitable weight class for Diego because he should be fighting at 160 pounds.

He is certainly not the only fighter that either has trouble making weight or is at a serious size disadvantage. It is part of the game when each division is 15 or 20 pounds apart. Some fighters will fall in between.

If MMA ever decided to create more "in between" divisions, it would likely be well after Diego's prime before they went into effect.

As it is, Diego will just have to make due being in a less than comfortable place; however, I have a feeling Diego is somewhat used to not fitting in.