UFC 89: Thiago Alves vs. Diego Sanchez
According to MMA Weekly, welterweight standouts Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez will clash at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England:
“…American Top Team knockout artist Thiago “Pitbull†Alves is slated to return on Oct. 18 to face former “Ultimate Fighter†winner Diego Sanchez. The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight. There is currently a verbal agreement with actual bout agreements for the contest expected to be signed in the next few days.”
Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez (19-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) tarnished his unbeaten record for the first time in 2007, dropping back-to-back decisions to seasoned grapplers Josh Koshcheck and Jon Fitch. Sanchez would rebound in 2008, putting away David Bielkheden and most recently Luigi Fioravanti at The Ultimate Fighter 7 finale. Diego is a product of Greg Jackson’s submission fighting camp, and is known for his well-roundedness and tenacity inside the octagon. Sanchez holds notable wins over Joe Riggs, Karo Parisyan, Nick Diaz and Kenny Florian.
Thiago Alves (15-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) is riding high off of a huge TKO victory over Matt Hughes at UFC 85, though the “Pitbull” was met with much criticism due to his inability to make weight for his bout with the former welterweight champion. Alves has showcased excellent Muay Thai and holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiutjitsu. Like his future opponent, Thiago has also succumbed to welterweight contender Jon Fitch in the past, and holds notable wins over Karo Parisyan, Chris Lytle and Marcus Davis.
It seems only natural that the winner of Alves-Sanchez be placed a heck of a lot closer to a shot at the coveted welterweight title, which will be on the line when champion George St. Pierre takes on Jon Fitch at UFC 87 “Seek and Destroy” this August.
UFC 89 features a 185 pound main event meeting between English native Michael “The Count” Bisping and hard hitting Chris “The Crippler” Leben.
Tags: Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves
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This is going to be a badass fight and card…I’d say winner gets a title shot? can’t wait for ufc 89
Here we go! This will be a battle. Diego training with Saulo is huge for him! If his hands look as impressive over Bisping as they did against Luigi, Bisping may be in trouble!!!
Either way this one will be a great fight!
I am not yet sold on Bisping so I would go with Diego on this one.
Curtis,
Diego isn’t fighting Bisping buddy. He’s fighting Thiago Alves. Haha. Anyways, this is going to be a great fight! I’m pulling for Diego but in reality I don’t care who wins because they are both great fighters. I agree with Cole. The winner should be next in line for a title shot!
WOW I feel retarded…I read the wrong thing…
ANYWAY…should still be a good fight. The winner should def get a title shot.
Yea…I cant wait for this card either…another UK card….fantastic fights between Bisping vs Dante Rivera and Diego Sanchez vs Kyle Bradley!!! WOOO…..oh…wait….whoops…im getting ahead of myself….sorry UK fans…go ahead and buy the tickets now with this card….we’ll try to get it close again!!
(In all seriousness..I hope the card doesnt change…these would be GREAT fights!)
I have also heard rumor that this one could be free on Spike!
This is the fight I wanted to see and definitely the next 2 guys in line and worthy of a title shot.
2 Very intense fighters !
Lets just hope Thiago can cut weight this time……… he seems almost too thick for 170…
Sweet!
I hope the fight card makes it all the way this time. Last time it was smashed beyond belief!
Yea
Top Team is on fire! That could be trouble for Diego, but I will be rooting for Diego.
NO WAY THIS IS GONNA BE AN AWSOME FIGHT… I CAN’T WAIT.
Curtis- where did you hear it will be free on spike?? I wish they would do that more….It’s not like they don’t have the money to do it…Yea thiago looked sooo much bigger than hughes in that fight…lookd like he was a f*ckin middleweight…
LOL COLE THEY JUST POST IT SAYING BISPING AND LEBEN ON SPIKE… THATS EVEN BETTER
Super fight this should be !
Leben vs Bisping & Sanchez vs Alves should all be fun to watch and free !
Gotta go with Alves by TKO in the 1st and Bisping by TKO in the 2nd and i cant stand Sanchez he is smug so & so
In Britain i imagine he would be classed as a “Wanker”
Sanchez ain’t no “wanker” haha hes badass…He’s one of my favorite fighters..I’d like to see him get a title shot
I DON’T LIKE DEIGO DO TO THE FACT HES AN A$$HOLE TO HIS HOME FANS… BUT HE IS A GOOD FIGHTER AND LOOK REALLY TOUGH IN LAST FIGHT BUT IM NOT TO SURE IF HE CAN HANDLE ALVES. WERE IN FOR A GOOD ONE…
I thing is for sure, you don’t have to worry about Diego rolling over. He will give his all from start to finish!
damn i feel sorry for diego he is going to get punished
I can only hope Alves makes weight and delivers a flying knee to Diego’s eyes, nose or mouth.
I am sure ATT will make sure he has no prob making the weight this time!
wow this one is a tough call but I think that Alves is a wrecking machine and will hurt diego w/ one of those knees to the body & or face and GnP him out! Alves TKO 2nd maybe 3rd Round
I am looking forward to the Sanchez, Alves fight. I don’t think that Sanchez should get a title shot if he wins. In his last 4 fights, he lost to Fitch and Koscheck (both top 10 fighters) and beats to unranked no named fighters. He should definately have to fight someone else before his title shot. How about a Sanchez, Koscheck rematch. That should be more explosive than the first one.
this fight DOES seema good fight, BUT, from a UK fan who will attend his second event this year, UFC 85 was last one, I am a little upset that Bisping, and Alves are going to be on the card AGAIN.
I mean, please don’t get me wrong, they are good to watch , but christ, I would have thought Dana could get totally new names as we only just seen them both in July. Seeing as the UFC doesn’t come here as often as I would like, maybe a title fight would be nice.
So, what I mean is really, no offence to Sanchez or Alves, but we saw them at the last event.
Does anyone agree with me at all?
I am going to this event, but would like to see two more fighters I have not seen before, but there you go.
Anyway, my prediction, Alves in 2 with a ground n pound.
damn, just get us some different top name fighters we have not seen in a while.
That’s all I feel. Sorry.
Bring back chuck, delay his fight as that was what 85 was selling mainly for to begin with.
Bringa new card for the UK.
i said we saw sanchez and alves before, sorry, i meant bisping and alves, my apologies
this is a tough fight for sanchez, i mean hes had two easy fights to get his confidence back then thrown into the deep end to face one of the biggest stars in mma at the moment, haveing said that this is tough to call and i would say the winner does get the next shot, my heart says alves but my head says sanchez, so im gong to go with my head and say sanchez haha im not the biggest sanchez in fact i think hes a total nut job but the guy is tough i a see him getting a decision.
Alves wins this by a mile….DIego is good…but Alves has passed that and is in the elite of welterweight. A new opponent for GSP.
He gained my respect by dominating Matt Hughes…my favorite fighter. I know he was overweight and as his punishment, I am glad he is fighting one more before a title shot, but his time will come.
Diego deserves to be next in line for a title shot at welterweight out of everyone in that division.
If Matt Sarra did @ 15 – 4 why not Diego when he was 19 – 0, Now he is 21-2. Fitch just beat Diego by a bit and Thiago Alves was TKO by him.
Thiago Alves got respect because he beat Hughes; he was 190 pounds for sure in that fight.
Will Diego beat GSP, I don’t think so.
Let’s see how GSP does against Fitch,
Diego is bigger & stronger now then before his fight with Fitch; a title shot he does deserve.
Alves VS Diego sounds right.
Diego wins by submission just like when Fisher submitted Alves
HA HA so it would appear that alves begging and I quote “I have been a good boy” didnt get what he wanted which is good but i agree that this fight will set one of them up to face gsp next…..yes i said gsp i cant see fitch out wrestling gsp cause kos couldnt do it so what makes anyone think that gsp will lose to that
He can come in over this time if he beats Diego.
anyone agree with me about bisping and alves showing up again in the uk?
I am sure it’ll be good matches, but totally different fighters / card would make it a great night.
I am really tired of hearing about Bisping….haha, sorry guys…I thought this post was about Thiago and Diego.
I know what mean Ryan all we get to see is Anderson, Chuck, GSP, Nog & other bums LOL !
Seriously i know what ya saying i is a bit of a cop out for y’all.
I’m calling Alves vs GSP & Chuck vs Rampage at the Xmas shows
*IF* Alves wins then he should get a title shot. *IF* diego wins he should NOT get a title shot. He’s 2-2 in his last 4 fights, and in a division that is stacked with talent that is not a record to bring for a title shot. Fitch had to win what 8 fights in a row before he got his shot? GSP won 4 then lost to hughes then won 4 again before another shot? Diego needs to beat more people.
Having said that I think Alves is over rated. He beat Karo in round 2 for sure but was losing round 1. And Hughes is kinda washed up. Everyone knows that if you can stuff the takedown Hughes has zero standing game. And now that people can outstrike hughes he has a LOT harder time with the takedown.
I say Diego by UD.
I agree with ya Brandon except the thing u said about Alves. I dont think he is overrated. Who else does he have to beat to be NOT overrated? There are good welterweights, Great welterweights, and elite welterweights…..the only elite welterweight out there GSP. Alves just beat 2 great ones.
Ryan-S
I agree with you buddy, this will be the 5th ufc event i’ve been to since last April and i’ve only seen 1 title fight (Rampage/Hendo), and the same fighters appear event after event, Marcus Davies, Jess Laudin, Bisping, Paul Taylor, the list goes on. Don’t get me wrong the fights are usually top drawer but I wouldn’t mind seeing different fighters too.
Weight remark was a joke.
i lived in the uk for awhile and love it there but you all are bisping’s main fan base, thats why he’s on every card they have in the uk. he’s not near as big here in the states, alot of us think he’s been built up by the managers of the ufc and wouldnt do to good against the top tier fighters. he lost the hammil fight, no question there, he did do much better against an out of shape rashad then i thought he’d do. also i think that the reason they dont have title bouts over there is that they have to televise them mid-day here and therefore lose out on the pay television event. personally i missed the penn v stevenson fight because i had to work all day saturday.
and, alves vs sanchez is clear, diego is in some serious trouble. ko round 1. diego couldnt handle kos’ standup. kos’! how’s he going to deal with a scary striker like thiago?
Diego deserves to be next in line for a title shot at welterweight out of everyone in that division.
If Matt Sarra did @ 15 – 4 why not Diego when he was 19 – 0, Now he is 21-2. Fitch just beat Diego by a bit and Thiago Alves was TKO by him.
Thiago Alves got respect because he beat Hughes; he was 190 pounds for sure in that fight.
Will Diego beat GSP, I don’t think so.
Let’s see how GSP does against Fitch,
Diego is bigger & stronger now then before his fight with Fitch; a title shot he does deserve.
Alves VS Diego sounds right.
Diego wins by submission just like when Fisher submitted Alves
Diego will be fine. He won’t wont get smashed as bad as everyone thinks.
hiya “jpm” mate !
well, I ain’t REALLY complaining at seeing another ufc event in a few months at all. I love it, but, it would just be a change to see a WELL top name, I am actually looking forward to Anderson Silva vs Okami more possibly. If he does not get injured in July that is. Hopefully not.
The list of fighters you mentioned are good guys like you say, but all the same we get a sort of “circle-of-guys” which would be nice to be broken.
I was upset with the Vera vs Werdum result, a good heavyweight slug out is what I like to see aswell as some fast scrappy fights.
hiya “cincy”
I cannot disagree with you my friend, I didn’t even think of the ppv times etc. But, the UK wants some BIG names, and crowd pullers to REALLY REALLY set it on fire over here. I mean, I almost cried my dams heart out when Chuck was pulled from the card, I really was pi**ed off. I do know the cards can change, but he was a real ticket seller for many over here. So, for him to be removed was a big chunk out of my UFC heart !
I just know I will probably now never get to see him fight as I had always dreamed of.
I don’t really see chuck coming back over to fight, even tho his appearance did make up for thedrop. I was pleased at that.
You’ll all laugh now, my missus said to me ” well I think he should have got up and said sorry to everyone on in the ring ” I just creased up in laughs.
Bless her.
ALVES wins TKO rd 2
Ryan S
I agree with you buddy, loosing chuck to an injury was a kick in the balls for the ufc but they still managed to pull of a good card.
I really want thiago alves to dominate diego i cant stand him, i really dont think diego will be able to take him down and do you really think diego is going to beat him in the clinch or standing up??
Alves is a giant 170lb!
If thiago wins he gets a title shot not sure about diego tho what has he proved after loosing to koscheck and fitch?
pete90
hi mate, chuck out of 85 was a blow wasn’t it??
Anyhow, I said earlier, Alves in round 2 with a ground n pound. Diego will be tough, but Alves is better in my eyes. He KO’d hughes brilliantly and is just fresh blood. He will win I think.
Alves winning makes a better match for the title anyway. GSP will romper stomper Diego down to 145 in the WEC. Fitch has been there and done that with Diego. The situation is just better if Alves wins.
i agree mate, alves for the title shot !!
This card is already shapping up to be the best card UFC has put togeher all year! Diego-vs-Alvez is a super match up. I’m interested to see how Diego handles Alvez raw power and stand up skills. Solid test for both guys here. Can’t wait to see this fight.
I really believe that if Alvez would have made weight against Hughes, we wouldn’t have to fight this fight, but he would be fighting for the title.
Againt, Alves beat Hughes and Karo. Karo is the guy that CAN’T bring it together in the clinch to secure his title shot. He lost to Diego pretty one sided, and he got KO’d to Alves (although he was winning round 1) … Diego is going to pose some problems for Alves that Hughes didn’t, but be a simmilar fight as Karo was only I think Diego has a better chin than Karo. I think Alves loses to a number of great WW’s. and I do think the UFC has a few more than 1 elite WW
Fitch is an elite WW in my oppinion. He beat Diego and that split D was a joke. It was dominated by Fitch the entire fight. I say Fitch beats Alves
Koshcheck is a freak at WW and his hands just keep getting better. Kos needs to just improve slight areas and he will dominate almost everybody.. I say Kos beats Alves
Marcus Davis – While not an elite he is a very good WW and with his hands being as great as they are I would LOVE to see Alves vs. Davis. This could go either way with 1 punch KO power.
Swick – another great WW that should be tested against a guy of Alves calibre.
Diego I think will beat Alves.
I see Alves being the next Terry Martin or Gabriel Gonzaga, someone who beat a couple of aging greats and a couple of good gate keepers but when faced with real challenges they fail.
This is going to be an awesome fight! The winner deserves a shot at the title. I’m going for Diego all the Way!!!
KOuch I agree with you
This fight is probably the only reason i’ll watch this card, i say Sanchez round 1 GnP stoppage, i like alves but like it has been stated he is over rated
Diego Sanchez didn’t look impressive against Luigi Fioravanti. He looked sloppy, though he still knocked out his opponent. I think Thiago Alves will win in dominating fashion.
aqlves will over power diego
Diego has not impressed me at all , I think Alves destroys him
Diego needs to go back to Albuqurque.If nothing else go work with Condit.
i thought diego was still with greg jackson?? where is he now?
Last I heeard he was training in San Diego…
Sanchez is a phony, the biggest name he has faced is Riggs and he isnt even somebody but oh well. I hope Alvez puts him in a coma.
He is training with saulo Ribiero.
Trust me, he isn’t a phony. He is a beast!
no ****in way diego wins. hes a ****, i dont care how good he is. he’s still a ****. alves is gonna knock his ass out.
Thats right Saulo Riberio.Saulo Riberio helps him more in the long term….Fit NHB or gaidojutsu would help more now…
Thiago and Diego been pulled??
http://uk.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail.FightCard&eid=1513
r0an – It hasn’t yet been officially announced. It’s still rumored for the event though.
cheers Kris
was gettin worried
Ummm there really to much to think about, i mean i like both sanchez and alves but diego is coming off fights with no name fighters and who arent in the top ten in welterweight! not even close to the top!! Thiago has beaten karo parisyian and matt hughes… in which he got extremely better from one fight to the next!! he is a beast and is way to powerful for sanchez, so i hope sanchez doesnt think he can stand up wit alves cause then he will get crushed faster then he supposed to!! and by a miraculous event happening and diego did win, he shouldnt be in line for a title shot!! he to me would have to beat at least one more top ten or top five fighter, like a rematch with koscheck would maybe set him up!! but thats a dream worl he is gonna pretty much get dominated and get ko in 2nd or 3rd round, no questions!! and after that alves should fight gsp for the title and that my friends would be one hell of a fight!!