thoughts on diego sanchez striking

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devante

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i really see alot of improvement in diego's game, now alot of people are gonna say that fiorvanti is not all that; an you know what he is not. But like riggs he is a guy who was (theoretically) the better striker; an diego more or less beat him out of his game using intelligent and steady pressure, basic (but patient) off/def footwork, and a good balance of strikes (i.e. hands feet knees).

now is he one of the best in the world, no; but this guy is far improved from the heavy footed one directional guy who was potshotted by josh "trackstar" koscheck, diego showed angles, cut off the cage, and when caught or covering up would step back and out (not just be stationary and thereby a punching bag ala tito ortiz or any other mma fighter).

he didnt show the widest array of strikes, but he had balance in that he threw short stiff combos, used knees in clinch and kicks at long range; more importantly he commited to them.


the biggest thing i think he has always had is the will to take abuse and not crack; unlike many mma guys or ground guys, he doesn't shoot out of desperation. He shoots to apply his strength of skill; but not cus he is unwilling or unable to take punishment on the feet or get off w/his offense...an this will pose many probs as he proceeds forward, cus now people can't predict him to just shoot shoot shoot; he has now become basic but eff on his feet, maybe im just a fan but i saw a greatly improved fighter standing.
 
He improved A LOT. He cut off the cage well and showed good power. He became much more explosive and kept good distance. He also has a devasting lead hook and showed all of his different tools. The problem is, he needs to relax and is too tense. If he were more relaxed like BJ Penn when he throws his strikes, he would be alot more effective. Also, he could string together better combinations. He also gets real wild at points just because wants to finish the fight so bad. He needs to become a little more patient. There is alot more he needs to work on, but he has improved. I would like to see diego vs kos again, because they both improved their striking immensely
 
i think kos standup is much more a byproduct of his athletic ability than his skills, though he has gotten better; the thing that seperates him and diego is diego's mindset.

if he is forced to stand, he won't keep shooting out of desperation and he won't get def out of fear of getting hit; diego will apply pressure and commit to landing on his opp.

an that is something most grapplers wont do; the only time they look good standing is before they get hit; diego is willing and able to maintain composure when unable to fight in his preferred range, i think the riggs/fiorvantini fights show this
 
He needs to be more aggressive with his striking if he's ever going to get anywhere in this division. He's very physically weak compared to most guys at 170. Fitch shrugged off his takedowns with ease and even Luigi tossed him whenever he wanted.

If Diego's got this great chin and cardio the way he says then he's got to use it and go on the attack.

He looks the same fighter to me, just not aggressive enough. He'd have lost the exact same way as before had he been fighting Kos or Fitch again.
 
Chute Stomp said:
He looks the same fighter to me, just not aggressive enough. He'd have lost the exact same way as before had he been fighting Kos or Fitch again.
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This sounds really strange to me. Sanchez is about the most aggressive fighter I can think of and I don't see that as the reason he lost to Fitch or Kos at all. Both of them are bigger and better wrestlers. In the case of Kos, Sanchez couldn't take him off of his feet as a result and in the case of Fitch he had to work from the bottom too much. Even given that, neither guy finished him or worked him over.
 
Chute Stomp said:
He needs to be more aggressive with his striking if he's ever going to get anywhere in this division. He's very physically weak compared to most guys at 170. Fitch shrugged off his takedowns with ease and even Luigi tossed him whenever he wanted.

If Diego's got this great chin and cardio the way he says then he's got to use it and go on the attack.

He looks the same fighter to me, just not aggressive enough. He'd have lost the exact same way as before had he been fighting Kos or Fitch again.
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i disagree, at this point luigi has better tech striking, not to mention luigi is the physically and mentally tougher fighter than koscheck who hasn't shown an ability or willingness to strike or defend strikes when an opponents lands on him or even pressures him w/strikes; the second kos loses total control of striking he goes right back to wrestling.

unlike diego who can and will enter in or stay in range to land his offense; not saying diego won't fight smart, but UNLIKE most mma guys he is not seeking the shot at first sign of resistance. Sanchez could have chased the takedown and loss a decision getting hit, reversed and sprawled; instead sanchez dug in and committed to getting off w/his strikes, an put luigi down and out w/a high kick, then follow up knee strike.


sanchez hands were sharper he was throwing short but sharp combos, setting up and eff using head kicks, as well as knees when in; not to mention the intelligent pressure and footowrk that let him cut off the cage and get into range to land, as well as get out of range when luigi tried to land combinations. The sanchez who fought kos had no footwork; an no ability to get in or out of range to land or get away from shots, not to mention he lacked the skills necessary to do more than throw one strike in an attempt to close the dist for takedown attempts.

now sanchez was committing to his strikes and willing to work the strikes instead of chasing the takedowns; which he had done in almost every fight he has been in, being that he is one of the smaller guys in the div he is gonan have to round out his skills to allow him to work his gnp, subs, wrestling. Too many guys have a better pedigree and are outright phys superior to him for him to just run people over; as good as he was on his streak, he was beating skilled..but physically inferior guys (strength/sizewise) i.e. diaz, gassaway, alessio, bieldeken, and parisian.

now that he is facing the phys dominat guys he has to be a serious threat standing to be able to even attempt at getting them down or working from a dominant position
 
Breakfast Bar said:
This sounds really strange to me. Sanchez is about the most aggressive fighter I can think of and I don't see that as the reason he lost to Fitch or Kos at all. Both of them are bigger and better wrestlers. In the case of Kos, Sanchez couldn't take him off of his feet as a result and in the case of Fitch he had to work from the bottom too much. Even given that, neither guy finished him or worked him over.
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As far as striking goes Diego isn't that aggressive at all. In the past with his wrestling he's been aggressive, but not with strikes. This has been his biggest weakness and what he needs to change to win matches in the future. He'll show all this aggression with takedowns but won't come close to getting them against anyone decent. When his takedowns fail he has always looked really bad and one dimensional.

Diego almost exclusively counter-punches and thats what he needs to change imo. In this fight he was willing to lead off with kicks to his credit. With punches? Almost never. Riggs is like his only ko standing.

With Diego you'll get these stalemates. Diego won't be willing to lead off since he's a counterpuncher, while his opponent won't be willing to take a chance with his striking in case he gets taken down. Result = Stalemate or Diego close win/loss.

When Diego faces GSP he's gonna have to just go for it standing cause GSP's gonna ragdoll him when they clinch up. A Diego v Matt Hughes fight would be a lot of fun.
 
Diego's stand up is improving, but still not good. He comes out hard which gives the illusion that he can throw. He's the one hitter quitter. Any decent athelete possesses this. That doesn't impress me. Personally, I'd like to strike the guy 4-5 times before he hits the ground. Landing a lucky bomb means nothing.

He has gained alot of confidence in his satnd up, which could eventually hurt him. He thinks he is better than he is. His head kicks are pure shit. Worthless. I'm not trying to insult him, just amazed by how good he thought they were. He looked like a cheerleader throwing those uprising kicks.
 
Riggs has sloppy sloppy defense as well as a suspect chin. The hook Diego landed on him was more a result of that then Diego's skill. With that said, he showed the best striking in his career against Luigi and he is still young enough that he has time to improve his game.
 
i am not saying he is a technician, im sayin he a)has improved and b)will be effective cus he is not afraid to stay in the pocket and exchange, nor is he unable or unwilling to take shots..to land his shots.

against riggs he had to be willing to eat a shot to land the shot that put him down; against fiorvantin, he had to be willing to come forward and open up offensively to score that ko/tko.

if he would have done what most grapplers do, just chase the td; he would have been sprawled/brawled and beaten on points or by decision.

he had to make a concious dec to work his standup, commit to it; not just throw one or two shots and then try to go for the td. Someone like kos can't do that, if he can't have that ace in the hole he will get beat the f*ck up or just keep chasing the td because he is unwilling or able to take punishment to eff assert himself standing.
 
i am not saying he is a technician, im sayin he a)has improved and b)will be effective cus he is not afraid to stay in the pocket and exchange, nor is he unable or unwilling to take shots..to land his shots.

against riggs he had to be willing to eat a shot to land the shot that put him down; against fiorvantin, he had to be willing to come forward and open up offensively to score that ko/tko.

if he would have done what most grapplers do, just chase the td; he would have been sprawled/brawled and beaten on points or by decision.

he had to make a concious dec to work his standup, commit to it; not just throw one or two shots and then try to go for the td. Someone like kos can't do that, if he can't have that ace in the hole he will get beat the f*ck up or just keep chasing the td because he is unwilling or able to take punishment to eff assert himself standing.
 
Still same striker to me. He's still stiff, flat footed, and too tense. He did throw kicks a lot more than I've ever seen him before. I still wasn't that impressed though. His footwork still stinks...
 
My analysis is that his improvement came from focusing on striking geared toward MMA, rather that boxing (he was training with Oscar de lahoya for KOS fight). His hands were real close to his fight and all his combos did not cover the distance in MMA. Now it seems as if his uppercut isnt tight (opposed to boxing logic) but effective for an MMA fight when he was persuing an opponent backing up.

I was definitly impressed. I think stand up trainers are just starting to adjust the former disciplines to the dynamics of this new game (MMA), cause as we have seen many of our top MMA strikers are technically very unsound (lidell, franklyn etc) and I feel this is diego just adjusting his teaching to MMA in an effective manner
 
My analysis is that his improvement came from focusing on striking geared toward MMA, rather that boxing (he was training with Oscar de lahoya for KOS fight). His hands were real close to his face and all his combos did not cover the distance in MMA. Now it seems as if his uppercut isnt tight (opposed to boxing logic) but effective for an MMA fight when he was persuing an opponent backing up.

I was definitly impressed. I think stand up trainers are just starting to adjust the former disciplines to the dynamics of this new game (MMA), cause as we have seen many of our top MMA strikers are technically very unsound (lidell, franklyn etc) and I feel this is diego just adjusting his teaching to MMA in an effective manner
 
I think he has improved in the past year, a good bit actually. He has always had a good chin, and if he mixes his takedowns up with effective striking he can go a long way. Luigi was always worried about the shot, even though Diego never really got a clean take down. However, Diego isn't as fluid as GSP (another strong grappler), or Alves. I think he would have problems with both.
 
Diego has improved a noticeable amount since his fight with Koscheck, and i think he is legitamently a top 5 WW. His combinations were fast and pretty acurate, and Luigi had to worry about the take down even though he never got taken down cleany the whole fight. I would be interested in a rematch.
 
watching diego's improvement IMO makes him go from a D to a C grade.
 
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