Diego Sanchez Expecting to Get in the Face of His Next Opponent at UFC 101

(Photo courtesy of The Sun)

Much of Quinton Jackson’s distaste for Rashad Evans stems from UFC 96, when Rashad entered the cage directly following Rampage’s win over Keith Jardine and started jawing at him. The resulting exchange solidified them as mortal enemies whose mutual hatred is the basis for the next season of TUF — and it seems the UFC wants to replicate that drama in their lightweight division. Here’s Diego Sanchez talking about the immediate title shot he was recently promised by the UFC:

“This comes from Lorenzo [Fertitta] and Dana [White]. They’re flying me out to Philadelphia. I’ll be sitting there ringside. I’ll probably be in the ring afterward. It’s on.”

Oh God, not this s**t again. While we’re discussing WWE-style antics, we might as well add the “post-fight confrontation” bit to the list of things that probably shouldn’t have a place in MMA competition. At the very least, you’re placing unnecessary stress on the winner (meaning, the guy who’s actually supposed to be in the cage at that moment), who’s riding the thrill of victory, and usually exhausted, and now has to compose himself enough to mean-mug his next opponent. And sometimes, this happens.

If BJ Penn beats Kenny Florian on August 8th, the potential post-fight face-off with Sanchez could be very reserved, if it goes down at all. The two have no personal history, and nothing to really get mad at each other about. If Florian wins, it’s a different story. Sanchez wrecked Florian to become the middleweight winner of TUF 1, and Florian has been itching to show the world that he’s a much different fighter than he was four years ago. Sanchez, on the other hand, doesn’t agree with that assessment:

“I know Kenny Florian. I know how to beat him, and I’ll beat him again the way I beat him before. I’m going to be patient. I’m going to wait. I know he’s a counter-striker. I know he’s going to run around the ring. He was the same fighter then, too. If you watch my fight, he tried to run around the ring and he didn’t want to engage. I put my hands down and chin up and said, ‘Come on, let’s fight.’ Eventually, I rushed him, took him down, and it’s going to be more of the same thing. He can work his wrestling all he wants, but I’m going to work mine more. He can work his ground skills all he wants, but I’m going to work mine more.”

I have a feeling that if these two go nose-to-nose in the cage after UFC 101, it won’t be an “agree to disagree” kind of situation. We can expect major heat — manufactured and cheesy as it may be. And who knows, maybe it’ll be enough to score them coaching spots on TUF 11…