Diego Sanchez stepped into the cage at UFC Fight Night: Nashville 12 years separated from becoming the winner of The Ultimate Fighter season one, and while he showed up and exhibited the same intensity we’ve witnessed since he made the Yes Cartwheel a thing, he just wasn’t able to take the shots unleashed on him by his opponent Al Iaquinta. The tough New Yorker knocked Sanchez to the canvas twice with two hard right hooks, forcing the ref to stop the fight just 1:38 into the first round.
Now it’s important to note that Iaquinta is serious business. Even coming off a two-year absence over a dispute over pay with the UFC, many still had Al the heavy favorite against Diego. But up until this point, Sanchez has waded into fights with many other top lightweights and turned them into tough wars. He hasn’t always won, and he’s often left the cage with his face looking like hamburger, but no one could question his warrior spirit.
OHHHHH @AlIaquinta drops Sanchez, then finishes him off!!! WHAT. A. RETURN. #UFCNashville pic.twitter.com/sEhHTmCUpR
— UFC (@ufc) April 23, 2017
Against Iaquinta, Sanchez went down early. It’s the second time in twelve months that his chin just hasn’t held up — Joe Lauzon finished him in 1:26 at UFC 200 back in July of 2016. And while we’re sure Diego is ready to continue stepping into the cage and showing the spirit that has inspired his latest nickname ‘Lionheart’, we have to wonder how wise it would be for the UFC to keep putting him in the Octagon against the top guys in his division.
Alas, it’s one of the classic trends of combat sports: the aging legends get fed to the rising stars. And with Diego Sanchez’s blood and guts fighting style, these contests are only going to get uglier. Here’s hoping Diego recognizes he doesn’t have anything more to prove, and that it’s time to hang up his gloves before he takes the kind of damage that doesn’t go away after he stops fighting.
