Of course the show will be headlined by the UFC’s No.1 PPV draw, Brock Lesnar who will defend his title against Cain Velasquez, but it appears the promotion are supporting it with a number of other quality fights.

While the line-up has been officially confirmed as yet it’s understood that former light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz will return against Matt Hamill.  It’s since been reported that rising heavyweight star Brendan Schaub is to take a step up to face Gabriel Gonzaga at the event. Another rumored heavyweight match-up sees Todd Duffee take on TUF 10’s Jon Madsen.

Elsewhere it’s already been established that recent defector from Strikeforce, Jake Shields will make his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann.

Finally Diego Sanchez has confirmed that despite losing to John Hathway in his return to the 170lb weight-class, he will stick at the weight, and takes on a tough opponent in Paulo Thiago who was until recently considered to be a top contender at welterweight.

Overall this is shaping up to be a very well rounded card for the UFC.  It’s a contrast to Lesnar’s last fight earlier this month at UFC 116 where the promotion relied heavily on their No.1 star’s blockbuster showdown with Shane Carwin to sell the show.  That proved to be a successful strategy with an estimated PPV buy-rate of between 1  – 1.28 million.

On this occasion though it looks as if they are bringing in more star power into the equation, though the reason for that isn’t immediately clear.  It may be that they are looking to test just how many PPV’s they can sell with Lesnar fronting a strong card, or it could be that they feel that his fight with Cain Velasquez isn’t by itself going to generate the same kind of heat that his return from illness against Carwin was able to.

Either way it’s the fans who win with a quality night of fights to look forward to in late October.

He finally came undone against two of the best welterweights around, namely Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck, but bounced back with a further two wins at 170lbs, before making a successful move to lightweight which resulted in two wins and a title shot at the champion at the time, BJ Penn.

Heading into that fight Sanchez was full of self-belief, and rightly so considering his record was now 21-2, and even his two losses had been closely fought encounters that had went the distance.

Sanchez After Penn Fight

Things can change quickly in this sport though, and his long awaited title shot proved to be a wake up call as he was rocked by Penn in the first round, dominated for the next four rounds and finally stopped due to a major cut in the fifth.

Down but not out Sanchez decided to move back up to 170lbs, a decision which surprised some observers who believed he still had plenty of life left in him at lightweight despite the defeat. Sanchez had always intended to move back up to welterweight at some stage though as that was the weight that he felt most comfortable at and still had unfinished business in.

On paper his fight with John Hathaway on Saturday night seemed like an easy fight to ease him back into the division, with his opponent being far less experienced and only tasting main card action in the UFC for the first time. 22 year-old Hathaway had other plans though, and outclassed Sanchez for all three rounds in a way that only Penn had previously managed to do thus far in his career.

In the space of just five months and two fights Sanchez has doubled the number of losses on his record and suffered to two most convincing losses of his eight year career.

So where does he go from here? Does he bid a hasty retreat back to 155lbs, or stick to his guns and continue to get his career back on track in the welterweight division?

In the aftermath of the fight Dana White said that he didn’t understand why Sanchez had made the move in the first place.

“I don’t think Diego belongs at 170. I think it’s easier to be at 170. He looked soft. He looked real lethargic and slow and heavy. [One] fifty-five, Diego. Fifty-five. He’s a tough guy. I’m not his manager, but I think he should stay at 155. Listen, a loss to B.J. Penn doesn’t mean you go back up to 170. It means you stay at 155 and you do what Kenny Florian did. You stay in there and keep grinding it out and beating the top guys, and you get back in line and work your way up to the top again. Diego does not look good at 170.”

White says the final decision lies with Sanchez, but as yet the ‘Nightmare’ has not indicated where his future lies. His only comments so far about his last loss have come via a couple of brief messages on his twitter account.

“I’m sorry i let my fans down. this just means i will work harder to make sure i come out on top next time.”

“everyone has bad days at work, except when i do, i get black eyes.”

it’s clear that he has some thinking to do though as he needs to find stability and get back to winning ways as soon as possible.  Personally I agree with Dana that he should head back down to lightweight where a rematch with fellow TUF 1 finalist Kenny Florian is still a fight that I’d like to see made at some stage in the next six months to a year.

While unable to finish his opponent Hathaway continued to show his dominance for the remainder of the round on the ground, landing some heavy blows in the process.

Despite this being his first fight on the main card of a UFC event Hathaway looked confident and composed as he entered the second round. This time the action played out almost entirely on the feet, but Hathaway still appeared to have the edge, showing crisper, faster striking and better movement. Sanchez meanwhile seemed less dynamic than we’ve seen him in the past, and struggled to find a way into the fight.

In the third round Sanchez attempted to take the fight to his opponent, rushing forward with strikes, but failed to land anything that would change the course of the fight, while Hathaway continued to find a home for his right hand. ‘The Hitman’ also continued to demonstrate his strength and defensive wrestling abilities to stuff Sanchez attempts to take the fight to the floor.

By the final bell the result seemed to be in little doubt, and indeed all three judges scored it unanimously in Hathaway’s favor.

This was a significant upset for Sanchez who had been looking to make a statement in his return to the welterweight division. Instead he now picks up his second consecutive defeat, and faces a dilemma as to whether to continue on it 170lbs, or make the cut back down to 155.

As for Hathaway, his record now moves to a perfect 14-0, and after this performance the welterweight division will now have stand up and take notice of Britain’s latest emerging star.

“finally got a opponent john hathaway he’s 12-0 tough kid from the uk. we will be fighting may 29 in VEGAS!!!!! its on!!!”

Personally I find it a slightly surprising decision.  Hathaway is one of the UK’s most promising fighters, but has so far been fighting in the undercard of UFC events where he has went three fights unbeaten against Thomas Egan, Rick Story and most recently Paul Taylor at UFC 105.

This is a major step up in competition though, with Sanchez well accustomed to fighting at 170lbs.  Only Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck have bettered him in that division and Hathaway will have to put in the performance of his career if he wants to emerge with his winning record intact.

Also set for UFC 114, which is expected to be headlined by Quinton Rampage Jackson Vs Rashad Evans, is a heavyweight contest between Todd Duffee and Mike Russow.

Duffee immediately marked himself out as one to watch in the UFC after recording the fastest knockout in UFC history in his debut – flooring Tim Hague just seven seconds into their fight at UFC 102.  Injury has since prevented him from returning to the octagon until now.

Mike Russow also made his debut at UFC 102, though he take the full three rounds to emerge with a win against Justin McCully.

Today mmaweekly contacted his manager who stated that no official decision had been made yet.  Even so, it’s clearly an option that is at the very least being seriously seriously.

The idea of Sanchez going back up to the welterweight division where he has spent most of his UFC career, compiling a winning record of 7-2, is no real surprise.  Since his move to lightweight he has noted several times that it is his intention to move back up at some stage.

Firstly though he had planned on winning the LW title, a goal that he fell just short of achieving at UFC 17 when he was convincingly defeated by the current champion BJ Penn.

Despite being soundly beaten Sanchez has been in defiant mood recently, and has stated that his main goal is to get a rematch with Penn.  Right now that target seems unlikely.  Several fighters, such as Penn’s next challenger Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Kenny Florian and Tyson Griffin are likely to now be above him in the pecking order for a possible fight with the champion, while Penn himself has stated a desire to go back to welterweight in order to earn a rematch with GSP.

If Sanchez does have his heart set on a second battle with BJ Penn then perhaps it would be a better strategy to return to welterweight and be lying in wait when the Hawaiian eventually moves up.

Personally though I think Sanchez still has unfinished business at 155lbs.  When he first moved down to the division he called out Kenny Florian, a fighter who he had previously beaten at middleweight to become The Ultimate Fighter winner on Season 1 of the show.

Both fighters have developed considerably since that point with Florian now considered by many the No.2 lightweight in the UFC, and a rematch between them still makes a lot of sense at this stage.

Depending on how that fight played out Sanchez could then reassess his options and make the move up to welterweight again if he still had his heart set on it.

Update:

Well it looks as if Sanchez has already made up his mind.  Only hours after this this article was published he announced on twitter that he will indeed be making the transition back to welterweight.

“YES IM GOING BACK TO WELTERWEIGHT IM LOVING MY NEW DIET.I WANT KOS OR FITCH BUT ANY TOP GUY WILL DO JUST WANT TO GIVE U FANS THE BEST FIGHT”

I’m a little disappointed.  I really believe that a rematch between Sanchez and Kenny Florian was one of the best fights the UFC could put on in the lightweight division at this time, but his decision to go to welterweight means it’s unlikely we’ll ever see it.

As for his prospects at welterweight, both Koscheck and Fitch already have scheduled opponents so he is going to have to fight someone a little lower down the pecking order to begin with.  I notice that he has already suggested to Nate Diaz that if he is also moving up to welterweight then he would be interested in fighting him.

He has remained upbeat since then though, and on Tuesday he revealed that he is healing quickly.

“I just want to take the time to thank god for giving me a great plastic surgeon and healing me so fast I’m 90% healed with no scar. wow god is great and also thanks to Dave sales my chiro who did cold laser on the scars and hooked me up with metagenics vitamin e for the scars . Thank you Jesus!”

Sanchez also posted a new picture.  See the difference between it, and the one he took just days after the fight took place below:

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1. How will BJ Penn’s cardio hold out if the fight goes into the later rounds?

Answer: Last night’s performance should do much to silence the doubters who have questioned ‘The Prodigy’s’ conditioning.

It wasn’t quite the war we might have expected though. Sanchez was floored early in the first round and that took much of the wind out of his sales.

He stayed in the fight though, and Penn showed no let up in his performance in the later rounds, and indeed waited for the 5th round to throw his first head kick, which opened up the cut that ended the fight.

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2. Diego Sanchez has the drive and the determination to succeed, but does he truly have the skills at the elite level?

Answer: On the evidence of this showing – no.  Like others who have went before him, Sanchez could not match Penn in the striking department, and failed to break down his takedown defense.

He struggled with his range, his strikes quickly became predictable, and he had no answer to BJ Penn’s movement and counter-striking.  According to the fightmetric stats Sanchez landed only eight strikes in the entire five round fight which tells it’s own story.

Now we will see the true strength of Diego’s character – whether he can learn from the experience, and come back a better fighter because of it.

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3. How will Frank Mir cope if he can’t take Cheick Kongo down?

Answer: We never had the opportunity to see if Mir would have been successful or not had he attempted to take down Kongo.

What we did however get to see however, admittedly only briefly, was how Mir would cope in the striking department, and it was better than expected. Inside the first minute he dropped Kongo with a powerful overhand left that sent Kongo reeling backwards onto the canvas.

After having dropped Antonio Nogueira numerous times in their fight last year, this latest highlight reel moment highlights the fact that despite Mir’s ground acumen, his stand-up should not be underestimated.

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4. Will Cheick Kongo show improvement in his ground skills?

Answer: It would perhaps be unfair to judge this considering he was clearly dazed from the punch that knocked him down when Mir began to work for the guillotine choke.

One thing he should learn is to tap before passing out – it’s never a good idea to be choked into unconcsiousness unnecessarily. 

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5. What effect will a change of training camp have on Kenny Florian and Clay Guida?

Answer: There were no drastic changes from either fighter on evidence in the fight.  Clay Guida in particular looked to be his usual self, and after struggling to take Florian down, his weakness in the striking department was still evident.

As for Florian, he is an ever evolving fighter, but it was some of his familiar weapons from past fights – his razor sharp elbows, and his often used rear naked choke submission – that had the biggest impact on this bout.

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6. How good is Stefan Struve’s chin?

Answer: Despite going the full three rounds with heavy hitter Paul Buentello I’m still not convinced by Struve’s chin.  In general his stand-up skills are still developing though, and I believe he has yet to fully utilize his height and reach advantage which would keep his chin from being tested too often.

At just 21 he still has plenty of time to learn, and from Dana White’s post fight comments it appears that he won’t be throw in against the divisions top contenders just yet, which at this stage may be a blessing.

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7. Can Jon Fitch get an impressive victory inside the distance to put him back into title contention?

Answer: Unfortunately for Fitch his fight ended in a decision for the sixth time in a row.  Though he was facing a tough opponent in Mike Pierce, another workmanlike victory does little to push him closer to a second shot at current welterweight champion Georges St.Pierre.

Sanchez was dropped to the canvas early in the first round as the two fighters made good on their promise to meet in the center of the cage.  Though he recovered, Sanchez never got a foothold in the fight, and in the fifth, a rare head kick from Penn opened up a large cut on his forehead that forced the referee to call an end to the bout.

Though bloodied, bruised and disappointed, Sanchez was gracious in defeat in a brief post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

“It just happens.  B.J. is a great champion,” he said.  “I did my best. He came out on top, but I’ll be back.”

A day later, after having time to reflect further in the events of the night, Sanchez gave his thoughts on the fight to fans via his twitter account.

“Long night yesterdy Bj really gave it to me. It was not my night I just couldn’t find him. I guess you have to take some to give some. Thanks to all my fans for the support.”

On Tuesday Sanchez posted again, and showed that the defeat hasn’t had a negative effect on his attitude.

“I’m good:) in High spirits I have work to do ounce my face heals I will be training asap with bad intentions for the next person I fight on the road back to Penn.”

A Day later he was on twitter again, this time with a more aggressive take on his feelings over the fight, and his future.

“To be honest I’m really f’nnnn pist off I hate losing and am more hungry for victory than ever… All I can think about is working my way back to earn another shot at Bj Penn.

My dream has changed it is no longer just become ufc champion it is to fight Bj Penn again. I will put my heart and soul into this!!! Im on a mission now.  All you doubters shut up and watch me!

If there is any doubt about just how hard Penn was to hit on the night, the Fightmetric stats reveal that in the five rounds Sanchez landed just 8 strikes, while his opponent landed 150.

Diego Sanchez: The Aftermath

Sanchez has given no specific details of his injuries, though at the post-fight press conference Dana White stated, “In 10 years of being in this business, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anybody more busted up than Diego is right now.”

Despite concerns that the winner of TUF season one had broken his nose, his manager later confirmed to sherdog.com that he suffered no “major damage” and was released from hospital after receiving multiple stitches to his lower lip, forehead and eyelid.

After such a convincing defeat Sanchez, now 21-3 in his mixed martial arts career, will have to learn from his experience fighting against one of the sports greats, and hope to come back stronger in the future.

There are still fights available for him at lightweight, including a rematch with fellow TUF season one competitor Kenny Florian which he has been calling for since his move to the lighter weight class.,

He has also previously stated that he eventually plans to move back up to the welterweight division.

Article By RossC

Further Reading: What Lies Ahead For BJ Penn After Defeating Diego Sanchez

BJ Penn further demonstrated his stranglehold over the lightweight division with this victory.  Diego Sanchez has never been dominated like this, even in the welterweight division, and, much like all truly great champions, Penn made a good fighter look very ordinary indeed.

Much of the damage was done in the first round as he rocked Sanchez in the opening exchanges and then swarming on him with punches.  It’s a testament to Sanchez’s conditioning and heart that he managed to get back up and continue fighting, but it was clear that the spring had been taken out of his step, and he never truly recovered.

Penn is not a fighter who likes to use kicks, but that doesn’t mean he can’t.  In the fifth round, he threw his first head kick of the fight, and instantly opened up a huge gash in Sanchez’s forehead that seconds later would end the fight.

The major concern for Penn now is that there are few genuine challenges left at 155lbs for him.  Can he stay motivated, and in what appears to be the best shape of his fighting career, to fight the likes of Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar?

For Sanchez this is a wake-up call.  Determination and self-belief can get you so far, but he now has to evolve his all-round skills if he wants to compete at the highest level.

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Frank Mir Makes Short Work Of Cheick Kongo

In the weeks leading up to the fight Frank Mir said a quick submission win would not be enough, he had to win impressively.  In the end he managed to do both in just 72 seconds.  If the submission came as no surprise, the thunderous left hook that dropped Cheick Kongo just moments before it certainly did.

With it Mir proved that the strikes that had a similar effect on Antonio Nogueira at the tail end of last year were no fluke, and that will give the other top contenders in the division plenty of food for thought.

As for Kongo, losing out on the ground is one thing, but getting beaten on his feet as well will be hard to take, and having now been beaten convincingly in his last two octagon visits he slips down the heavyweight ladder and will consider his next fight a must win.

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Jon Fitch Picks Up Another Decision Victory Against Mike Pierce

Jon Fitch has a handy knack of winning fights – he’s proven that 11 times in his 12 UFC appearances.  Unfortunately for him though, he also has a knack for taking his fights to a decision as he proved again here.

He’s a good all-rounder, but he lacks the energy, excitement and emphatic wins that will earn him a second shot at the title.  Until he can, others, like his team-mate Josh Koscheck, will move above him in the pecking order with less impressive records.

Despite losing, Mike Pierce showed himself to be a tough competitor who wasn’t fazed by his first outing on the main card in the UFC.  In the closing stages he came on strong and appeared to have Fitch in trouble, and he will no doubt regret not having done so earlier.

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Stefan Struve Claims A Majority Decision Win Over Paul Buentello

In the first round this fight went much as I had expected, with Stefan Struve taking Paul Buentello down, got his back, and worked for a submission.  Unable to finish his opponent however, he succeeded only in burning out his arms.

The next two rounds played out on the feet.  Buentello managed to rock Struve as he jumped in carelessly, but he got back up, and at one stage even engaged in a toe-to-toe, punch-for-punch exchange with the heavy handed striker.

By the third both fighters were running low on gas, but Struve started landing leg kicks with regularity which Buentello seemed uninterested or unable to check, and it would prove enough to win him the round, and claim a majority win.

There’s still question marks over Struve’s game, particularly over his stand-up and punch resistance.  At this time I don’t think he’s ready to be thrown in against the top contenders in the division, but at 21 he still has plenty of time to improve.

As for Buentello, at 35, time is not on his side.  He may be cut after just one fight, or, like fellow UFC veteran Phil Baroni, he may be given one more chance.  Either way his one dimensional approach means he isn’t likely to stick around for too much longer.

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Kenny Florian Defeats Clay Guida Inside The Distance.

Kenny Florian started off a little slow in this fight, but once he found his rhythm his class started to shine through against the always game Clay Guida.

Not only was Florian able to outstrike Guida, but he also managed to outwrestle him.  In the first round he was also able to land one of his infamous razor sharp elbows that opened up a significant cut on ‘The Carpenter’s’ hairline, which quickly bathed him in blood.  In the second he dropped Guida with a right hand to to his chin, and quickly capitalized by taking his back and sinking in the choke.

Finishing Guida inside the distance is no easy task, but Florian did an admirable job and once again showed his well rounded skills, which had went AWOL during his title fight with BJ Penn.  A third attempt at the lightweight title may still lie somwhere in his future on the strength of this performance.

Despite two back-to-back losses Guida always gets a great reaction from fans and is in no danger of being cut from the UFC.  He still has work to do on his all-round skills however to take his career to the next level.

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Prelims Round-up:

There were some exciting performances to be found in the preliminaries of UFC 107, not least of which was Alan Belcher’s first round TKO of Wilson Gouveia in front of his home-town crowd.  It should be enough to earn him a main card slot next time out.

T.J Grant also put on a show in the evening’s curtain raiser, felling Kevin Burns late in the first and then following in with strikes until the referee was forced to intervene.

Meanwhile TUF 9 finalist Demarques Johnson claimed his first victory in the UFC, surviving both a peruvian neck tie submission, and then strikes in the first round before landing an upkick from his back quickly followed by a triangle choke submission.

Rousimar Palhares finished his fight with Lucio Linhares inside the distance thanks to a heel hook, while Johny Hendricks and Matt Wiman also picked up unanimous decision victories during the undercard portion of the card.

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Main Card:

BJ Penn defeats Diego Sanchez by TKO (Cut) in Rd5

Frank Mir defeats Cheick Kongo by submission (guillotine choke) in Rd1

Jon Fitch defeats Mike Pierce by unanimous decision

Kenny Florian defeats Clay Guida by submission (rear naked choke) in Rd2

Stefan Struve defeats Paul Buentello by majority decision

Undercard:

Alan Belcher defeats Wilson Gouveia by TKO in Rd1

Matt Wiman defeats Shane Nelson by unanimous decision

Johny Hendricks defeats Ricardo Funch by unanimous decision

Rousimar Palhares defeats Lucio Linhares by submission (heel hook) in Rd2

DeMarques Johnson defeats Edgar Garcia by submission (triangle choke) in Rd1

TJ Grant defeats Kevin Burns by TKO in Rd1