Diego Sanchez has made the decision to move down to the featherweight division in his next outing, and his first opponent in the new weight class is set — top contender Ricardo Lamas.
Sanchez will be the second fighter in UFC history to compete in four different weight classes and would be the first ever to win a fight in four, if he defeats Lamas. They are set to fight later this year in Mexico.
Diego Sanchez drops to featherweight, faces Ricardo Lamas at UFC Fight Night 78
UFC officials announced the matchup on Wednesday.
Since losing to champ Jose Aldo at UFC 169 in February 2014, Lamas (15-4) won two-straight against Hacran Dias and Dennis Bermudez. However, he is coming off a brutal first-round knockout loss to top contender and three-time UFC title challenger Chad ‘Money’ Mendes this past April.
Sanchez (25-7) is the original The Ultimate Fighter middleweight winner, but since then has dropped to 170-pounds and more recently lightweight. ‘The Dream’ is 2-3 since 2012 — losses to Jake Ellenberger, Gilbert Melendez, Myles Jury, and split decision wins over Takanori Gomi and Ross Pearson.
The card placement for the bout is unknown at this time, but Lamas vs. Sanchez is expected to be apart of the main card or featured as the co-headliner.
UFC Fight Night 78 (The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2) takes place live from the Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico on Nov. 21. In the main event, Matt Brown faces Kelvin Gastelum in a pivotal welterweight matchup.
