Throughout his career, Diego Sanchez has not simply participated in multiple “fight of the year” candidates; he also can fairly claim that he has rarely been part of boring fights. His battle with Paulo Thiago at UFC 121 was no exception.
Coming off devastating losses to BJ Penn and John Hathaway, Sanchez needed a big win over the dangerous Thiago to get back on track. Did he achieve that goal?
Or, did the dangerous Thiago put Sanchez to sleep?
Diego Sanchez b. Paulo Thiago via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-26)
*Story of the fight: Round one looked like it would be another misstep for Sanchez. Thiago was stronger and more precise, and his combination of onslaught included strikes and a successful takedown. Sanchez simply looked to be in trouble.
But as Thiago started to fatigue, the “true” Diego Sanchez came out? Thiago did not make it easy, but Sanchez kept pushing, and he eventually brought Thiago to the mat (landing in a weird, “reverse mount” position). In a phenomenal ground exchange, Thiago tossed Sanchez off, but the aggressive Sanchez pounced right back on Thiago and took him to the mat with a big slam. Paulo Thiago was actively looking for submissions all round, but the dominant, powerful Sanchez was alive and he clearly took the second round.
Round three saw an even more tired Thiago just fall apart against Diego Sanchez. Diego took it right to him, working him to the mat with an absolute onslaught. Despite taking Thiago’s back and throwing some hard shots, Sanchez could not finish Thiago, but there was no question that his heart and conditioning gave him a big, much-needed victory.
A highlight came in the closing seconds, as Diego unleashed a vicious flurry of ground-and-pound from the top to put his signature on a well-earned victory in a phenomenal fight.
Though not anywhere near the level of his fights with Karo Parisyan and Clay Guida, Sanchez’s fight with Thiago was still a tremendous, must-see battle.