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So, Diego Sanchez has had to bail on the UFC 90 co-main event against Thiago Alves due to injury. Thankfully, Josh Koscheck has come in to take the fight on 2 weeks notice. This will no longer be the slugfest we expected, but it will give the UFC a true #1 contender to take on GSP or BJ Penn here soon for the title.

Lucky for the UFC Kos took the fight, or else this would have been a disaster.

Hmmm...

Diego showed some serious improvement in his last fight. This was going to be awesome.

I don't want anyone going into a major fight with 2 weeks notice.

Anyways...what an exciting division.

cowboyronnie wrote:Hmmm...

Diego showed some serious improvement in his last fight. This was going to be awesome.

I don't want anyone going into a major fight with 2 weeks notice.

Anyways...what an exciting division.

I would have liked to have seen Carlos Condit get the fight is Kos did not step in. He is long overdue for a big fight in the UFC. Also, this is supposedly gonna set up a Diego vs. Yoshida fight here soon.

**** weak.

I've been looking forward to that fight for so long.

Koscheck vs. Alves should be good as well, but I can't get as excited about it.

I'm pretty excited for this. I think Kos will smash him personally. And I dont think its gonna be a LnP decision like what many people are saying. He is gonna take him down and finish him. Though I don't think Kos would be ready for GSP yet, I think that if he wins, he will train alot differently for the next GSP fight. Especially since he got out wrestled, I think he will at least rectify that. But of course, first things first, he needs to beat Thiago. I cant wait to see the betting lines on this, if they put Kos as the underdog . . . easy money imo.

I don't know who'll win this one. Rooting for Alves for sure though.

Big ups to Kos for taking this fight. It's going to be a tall order with only 2 weeks of training and weight cutting.

if this stays standing Kos is going to sleep. He leaves himself open for big shots with the way he holds and uses his hands. When Kos gets in trouble he should take this to the ground though and pound out Alves.

This is a much better fight than Diego v. Alves though. Diego hasn't earned a #1 contender fight, he has lost to every top contender he has faced. Diego v. Yoshida will be a kick ass fight though. I had Yoshida submitting Kos, so now it will be interesting to see if he can submit Diego.

I never understood the Diego hate, the dude brings it everytime, and is constantly improving his game. He is fast becoming one of my fav's. I was rolling with one Diego's old buddies from Jacksons and he was telling me that towards the end he couldnt go out in Albqu cause dudes were always trying to fight with him and constantly disrespecting him.

El Hardee wrote:I never understood the Diego hate, the dude brings it everytime, and is constantly improving his game. He is fast becoming one of my fav's. I was rolling with one Diego's old buddies from Jacksons and he was telling me that towards the end he couldnt go out in Albqu cause dudes were always trying to fight with him and constantly disrespecting him.

He sure didn't bring it against Koscheck or Fitch, where he looked overmatched and like he wanted to take his ball and go home.

Diego has a ton of talent, but the reason people hate on him is because he gets tons of hype and has done very little to deserve it. His win over Karo (a gatekeeper at best) is his only big win.

We've been through this before.

Diego's wins over Karo, Diaz, and maybe even Riggs are more impressive than anything Koscheck has done (other than beat an injured Diego in a snoozer of a decision), and the only bigger win Fitch has other than Sanchez (split decision, hardly overmatched) is Alves. It's not like these guys are on completely different levels. Fitch, Koscheck, Sanchez, and Alves are all right there after GSP, and any of them can beat each other on any given night.

Diego is still in the top 5 at WW.

^ Are you saying that if Diego were to fight Fitch and Koschek again he would win? Because that's the only way I would put Diego above or equal to the level of Kos and Fitch. Diego is talented but I don't think he can beat anyone in the top 4. GSP, Penn, Fitch and Kos.

I don't disagree with him at top 5 in WW though.

jTF2 wrote:^ Are you saying that if Diego were to fight Fitch and Koschek again he would win? Because that's the only way I would put Diego above or equal to the level of Kos and Fitch. Diego is talented but I don't think he can beat anyone in the top 4. GSP, Penn, Fitch and Kos.

I don't disagree with him at top 5 in WW though.

Not to make excuses but Diego was getting over a really bad Staph infection going into the Kos fight I believe, and Kos still pretty much layed and prayed to a win. He is still young and he has a new camp, and has a great work ethic. He also is very teachable, look at the improvement in his striking, I even heard he is starting to train in a gi. Talent, work ethic, killer instinct = Champion (someday).

jTF2 wrote:^ Are you saying that if Diego were to fight Fitch and Koschek again he would win? Because that's the only way I would put Diego above or equal to the level of Kos and Fitch. Diego is talented but I don't think he can beat anyone in the top 4. GSP, Penn, Fitch and Kos.

I don't disagree with him at top 5 in WW though.

I do think he would win, but there's not much point in arguing it, because the other guys did beat him already. You have to at least admit he could win though. Neither guy finished him; one got a unanimous decision while he wasn't 100% and the other scored a split decision.

All I'm saying is he's in the mix.

I think people are forgetting how close Koscheck came to beating GSP. GSP won 29-28, and the thing that decided the final round was GSP's last takedown. If Kos had landed a takedown he would have stole that decision.

and to the person who said Kos LnP to beat Sanchez. you've never seen the fight, did you? Koscheck attempted 1 takedown the whole fight. It was a terrible fight, but it just showed how much quicker Kos's stand-up is, and how much more power he has in his hands. Sanchez is the better grappler, but just like in the Fitch fight, Diego cannot get top position against superior fighters like Fitch or Kos. I could see Diego beating Fitch, but he will never beat Koscheck.

Koscheck is the only person who might be able to out-wrestle GSP. He was caught off guard going into the GSP fight because he had no way of knowing GSP was going to try to take him down. I hate Koscheck with his goofy ass hair, but he is clearly the 2nd best WW in the division. I don't really think you can say that Diego can beat Koscheck. I don't see how it is possible. Koscheck has the better stand-up, is stronger, and will control where the fight takes place. That is a UD for Koscheck every time.

I want to see if Alves makes weight, how long it takes Alves to gas, and I want to see who has the better and quicker stand-up between Alves and Kos. Alves stuffed Matt Hughes shots, but Matt Hughes was doing Tito like shots in that fight, shooting from completely outside. I think Alves should be forced to make 170 btw, not 171. You can't give him a title fight without proof that he can make 170.

for what its worth, because I'm sure the Diego fan will think I am attacking Diego for no reason, I think Diego beat Fitch. I gave him the fight for his attempted submissions. He never was close to catching him in anything, but he was more active in the fight. He only has him self to blame though, bc he left the fight in the judges' hands.

IF Diego isn't going to take Kos's place in Kos's scheduled fight (he was supposed to fight Yoshida), then I think he should fight Shields when Shields signs with the UFC. Shields has already beaten Sanchez in a grappling match, so i would like to see that fight. I don't think Diego would be able to keep the fight standing, so it will be interesting to see just how much better Shields is on the ground than Diego who is probably one of the 5 best grapplers in the ufc ww division. Diego could easily KO him too when Shields gases.

and Condit should come over. the WEC is pointless. It should just stay with FW and BW. Maybe get women's mma also and sign Gina, Cyborg, and LaRosa. Everyone says the UFC is doing great, but Zuffa and Station's Casino owe a lot of money and could start having some issues next summer if they continue to not start paying off the hundreds of million in credit they owe to creditors. The WEC is a waste of money, just like foreign expansion has been.

Diego is in the mix for sure, but until he gets a marquee win over a top 10 WW, he is meerly a guy bumping around the 8 to 10 range. So far he is 0-2 in big fights against top 5 WW's. I was very interested to see what he could do against Alves though.

Sanchez reminds me a lot of Karo when he was young. A guy with a ton of talent who was always close but never quite made it over the hump because of untimely losses and injuries.

Cammo101 wrote:Diego is in the mix for sure, but until he gets a marquee win over a top 10 WW, he is meerly a guy bumping around the 8 to 10 range. So far he is 0-2 in big fights against top 5 WW's. I was very interested to see what he could do against Alves though.

Sanchez reminds me a lot of Karo when he was young. A guy with a ton of talent who was always close but never quite made it over the hump because of untimely losses and injuries.

First, Karo was definitely top 10, if not top 5 before Diego beat him.

I'd like to see your list of 8 guys that should be ranked higher than Diego at this point.

I know Jake Shields is going to be one of them, which I guess you can argue, though I'm not sure who his big win is against (Sakurai like 6 years ago? Okami at MW?).

I have a feeling you are going to put Carlos Condit ahead of him, which is completely ridiculous.

Who else is there? Serra? Hughes?

CPT wrote:

Cammo101 wrote:Diego is in the mix for sure, but until he gets a marquee win over a top 10 WW, he is meerly a guy bumping around the 8 to 10 range. So far he is 0-2 in big fights against top 5 WW's. I was very interested to see what he could do against Alves though.

Sanchez reminds me a lot of Karo when he was young. A guy with a ton of talent who was always close but never quite made it over the hump because of untimely losses and injuries.

First, Karo was definitely top 10, if not top 5 before Diego beat him.

I'd like to see your list of 8 guys that should be ranked higher than Diego at this point.

I know Jake Shields is going to be one of them, which I guess you can argue, though I'm not sure who his big win is against (Sakurai like 6 years ago? Okami at MW?).

I have a feeling you are going to put Carlos Condit ahead of him, which is completely ridiculous.

Who else is there? Serra? Hughes?

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Jake Shields
5. Thiago Alves
6. Diego Sanchez
7. Matt Serra
8. Carlos Condit
9. Matt Hughes
10. Karo Parisyan

I wasn't saying he will never move up or down, just that he seems to be one of those guys who never breaks through into the truly elite. These are my top 10, which I update on my site pretty much whenever something big happens.

Serra doesn't need to be in the top 10 anymore guys. He has one good win, and has lost to every other good fighter he has ever faced. BJ, Din Thomas, etc..

Cammo101 wrote:

CPT wrote:

Cammo101 wrote:Diego is in the mix for sure, but until he gets a marquee win over a top 10 WW, he is meerly a guy bumping around the 8 to 10 range. So far he is 0-2 in big fights against top 5 WW's. I was very interested to see what he could do against Alves though.

Sanchez reminds me a lot of Karo when he was young. A guy with a ton of talent who was always close but never quite made it over the hump because of untimely losses and injuries.

First, Karo was definitely top 10, if not top 5 before Diego beat him.

I'd like to see your list of 8 guys that should be ranked higher than Diego at this point.

I know Jake Shields is going to be one of them, which I guess you can argue, though I'm not sure who his big win is against (Sakurai like 6 years ago? Okami at MW?).

I have a feeling you are going to put Carlos Condit ahead of him, which is completely ridiculous.

Who else is there? Serra? Hughes?

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Jake Shields
5. Thiago Alves
6. Diego Sanchez
7. Matt Serra
8. Carlos Condit
9. Matt Hughes
10. Karo Parisyan

I wasn't saying he will never move up or down, just that he seems to be one of those guys who never breaks through into the truly elite. These are my top 10, which I update on my site pretty much whenever something big happens.

That's a reasonable list, but it just makes me wonder why you say things like Diego should be 8 to 10 when you have him ranked 6, and that he needs a win against a top 10 WW, when he's beaten Karo, who you have ranked in your top 10.