How did Diego Sanchez (unranked) get a fight with Gil (#2)?

Gil gets paid the same no matter who he fights so fighting a long-time veteran who he should walk through sounds like a good deal. The only problem is if it goes to the judges.
 
Passing of the torch I think. Sanchez has a big fan base from back in the day. Gilbert is not very well known, but could use exposure from beating a bit name who puts up a good fight.
 
there is almost no way it will not be exciting and a relatively safe fight for Gilbert who is already ranked #2 anyway so it's just about him staying in the mix for a future title shot soon
 
Because the fight is in Houston and they tried to stack the card with as many fighters of Hispanic origin as they could.
 
ali2013champ said:
Gil gets huge paycheck for an easy fight.
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Easy there chief Gil is almost sure to win but I don't think Sanchez is a cake walk for any fighter, the guy has an iron chin and great cardio should be a great fight
 
It has little to do with Diego, but everything to do with Gil.

Gil needs a good fight to prove he belongs at the top. We all know that he is very talented and that he went five round with Benson. The fans and the UFC don't want to see him fight some can and Diego has always been able to put on a great fight that will push his opponent to the very end.
 
The guys had an up and down last few years since losing to Penn, but he remains one of my favorite UFC fighters. Never a dull moment.

My favorite would be his big takedown against a game Paulo Thiago and the subsequent steamrolling for the remainder of the fight. He gave Thiago a beatdown.

Also big props for his performance against Jake Ellenberger. R3 he really turned on the heat against Jake.
 
Diego is a good choice for Melendez to see where he stands currently in the UFC LW division.

Diego Sanchez is a "household name" in the UFC, the other winner of the original TUF and always brings it.

Despite the rankings, win over Diego would give Melendez a definite boost and keep him relevant in the title picture. Gil needs wins in the UFC to make him more marketable to casual fight fans who might've not seen him fight before Benson match.
 
Why is Gil lame for accepting? Maybe the UFC didn't offer him other fights. Should he just sit on the sideline and waste away his prime waiting for another fight to open up? When the fight was scheduled most of the other top LWs were taken so there weren't a lot of options. A victory over Diego is a solid win at LW or WW, whether or not he is ranked in the top 10.

To even compare Diego's talking abilities to Sonnen's is laughable. In how many press conferences did he call out Melendez? How many times in public? There is really no comparison...

Sometimes that's just how things go. Faber had to fight Alcantara, it happens to others. You are acting like Sanchez is unheard of. He is a solid fighter.
 
ReadWrite said:
A split decision win over non-prime Gomi gets you #2? His previous win was a gift against Kampmann. He's not on a big win streak, and he hasn't looked lethal lately.

How the hell did this fight get set up?!! Why did Gil accept an unranked fighter? There isn't even any backstory of hatred. Gil gets nothing from this. It's a no-win fight.

Edit: Apparently this fight came about only because of Diego's lobbying. He didn't fight his way to it; he talked his way to it like Chael Sonnen.

http://www.mmamania.com/2013/5/16/4...s-gilbert-melendez-josh-thomson-nate-diaz-mma

Props for calling out top ranked fighters. Gil is lame for accepting. (Just like Thiago Silva accepted fight v. retired Hammill, Lol!)
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Some people realize there's more than rankings and toughness comes into play too. Diego Sanchez is 24-5 and a lot of that against great fighters, he's not some pushover for Gil. The guy has top wins at WW and LW and BJ Penn is the only man to stop him. I actually think he has a pretty good shot against Melendez and I think Melendez is a great fighter.
 
Prediction: Diego goes on line and sees all the negative talk from the naysayers. He gets super motivated, and gets all cartwheel "yes" batshit crazy and steamrolls Melendez. Round 1 will be competitive. By midway through round 2, Diego starts to run away with the fight. Round 3 has Diego mauling the shit out of Gilbert Melendez, who mercifully gets saved by the bell. WORD!

Besides Marinovich enriched Penn, who has ever had an easy fight with Sanchez? And Hathaway doesn't count. Diego wasn't right with Jesus at the time.
 
Wasn't it common pratice a few years ago to let a losing contender work his way up again?
 
Because Sanchez always goes hard and puts on a fight win or lose.
 
ReadWrite said:
A split decision win over non-prime Gomi gets you #2? His previous win was a gift against Kampmann. He's not on a big win streak, and he hasn't looked lethal lately.

How the hell did this fight get set up?!! Why did Gil accept an unranked fighter? There isn't even any backstory of hatred. Gil gets nothing from this. It's a no-win fight.

Edit: Apparently this fight came about only because of Diego's lobbying. He didn't fight his way to it; he talked his way to it like Chael Sonnen.

http://www.mmamania.com/2013/5/16/4...s-gilbert-melendez-josh-thomson-nate-diaz-mma

Props for calling out top ranked fighters. Gil is lame for accepting. (Just like Thiago Silva accepted fight v. retired Hammill, Lol!)
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Because everyone wants to see this again:

Diego-Sanchez-face.jpg
 
tumblr_m74u2hqTKt1ry1rm7o1_250.gif


The yes cartwheel trumps everything
 
mr.copperpot said:
I think Gomi would gas hard against Gil. It would be a slaughter, gomi would get taken down a couple times spend all his energy TRYING to get up. Then he start off the 3 round standing and gets handled.
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or hed just knock gil da fuq out. better than seeing diego fight imo. after his fight with gomi im done wit da guy.
 
Sanchez at LW is just an odd beast. Iirc when he dropped last time he got one win over Guida and an immediate title shot. This is a guy who has an average record and has never held a title other than TUF winner. Who else gets this treatment?
 
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