UFC welterweight Sanchez, former party animal, gladly settles into married life
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Diego Sanchez is spending his Valentine’s Day cutting weight and preparing for a pivotal welterweight clash with Jake Ellenberger on Wednesday.
Sanchez, 30, feels his special someone will be right alongside him in spirit, though, including the time he spends in the cage against Ellenberger in the main event of UFC on Fuel 1 in Omaha, Neb.
"When you get married, you become one. It’s like two people are going in there. She’s going to go in that cage with me. I’m fighting for her," Sanchez said of his wife Bernadette, with whom he will celebrate his first anniversary in May. "She’s got my back. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me."
Despite compiling a 23-4 record as a professional since 2002, Sanchez admits to being out of control for much of his career. Without offering many details, he insists all of the partying and negative influences are in the past.
"I got married and settled my life down. I’m a family man now. I’m training hard and I’m focused because I know what I’m fighting for," Sanchez said. "It’s a complete 180. It’s so different. You’re not fighting for just fame or whatever. You’re fighting for other people that need your help and need you to win. It’s a lot more inspiring and makes it a lot easier to stay on the right path and make better decisions."
Sanchez, a winner of consecutive bouts, has not been in action since a controversial unanimous decision victory over Martin Kampmann in March 2011.
He broke his right hand training for a fight against Matt Hughes in September, but Sanchez said his hand is even stronger than before the injury.
The card will air live on Fuel TV (Cable 318) at 5 p.m. A heavyweight matchup between Stefan Struve and Dave Herman also is part of the event.
■ FERTITTA TAKES TO TWITTER — UFC president Dana White is in near constant communication with fans through his Twitter feed, but CEO Lorenzo Fertitta stepped up his game on the social media platform last week with an impromptu late-night question-and-answer session with his followers.
Among the many bits of news Fertitta revealed late Thursday (and early Friday) was that the heavyweight title bout between Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos is likely to take place in Las Vegas, on May 26, and former champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir will fight this year to determine the likely next contender.
Also, Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz will fight for the third time on one of the upcoming Las Vegas cards, and the bantamweight title rematch between Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz will likely headline the July 7 card in Las Vegas.
Fertitta also indicated his belief Nick Diaz still has a future in the UFC despite his "retirement" announcement and second positive marijuana test.
■ UFC ON FOX — Two more fights were added to the UFC’s next network TV card on Fox to round out the event scheduled May 5 in East Rutherford, N.J.
White took to Twitter on Monday to announce a matchup of middleweight contenders Alan Belcher and Rousimar Palhares.
Last week, the organization announced welterweights Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks would meet on the card.
Previously announced fights include the main event between lightweight contenders Jim Miller and Nate Diaz, and a battle between heavyweight sluggers Pat Barry and Lavar Johnson.
■ SUPERIOR CAGE COMBAT — The organization returns to Las Vegas for the SCC 4 event at The Orleans on Thursday night.
UFC veteran and former "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 3 contestant Kendall Grove will meet fellow UFC veteran Jay Silva in a middleweight bout in the main event. John Gunderson and Justin Buchholz square off for the newly created SCC lightweight title.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
