Brydon on UFC: May I take this dance?
Posted February 14, 2012 5:07 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ah, Valentine’s Day. That day of the year to spend with the one you love the most.
For some, it also makes them think back to high school, when as love-struck teens eyed February 14th dreaming about taking their special sweetheart to the school dance.
That is, unless some jerk comes along and steals their date away.
No, I’m not a scorned romantic thinking about “the one that got away.” I’m just setting up Wednesday’s UFC fight night in which Diego (The Dream) Sanchez is hoping to do just that and follow in the footsteps of Carlos Condit by taking someone else’s place at the dance.
See, Sanchez’s opponent Jake Ellenberger is the fighter that everyone has been swooning over ahead of their welterweight tilt headlining UFC on FUEL TV 1 in Omaha.
And why not? Ellenberger has won five straight fights in the Octagon and was one judge away from being on a 10-fight win streak. (He dropped a split decision to Condit in his UFC debut, which many thought should have gone Ellenberger’s way, though not me).
He’s an astounding -325 betting favourite over Sanchez (+250) for their matchup and most people I’ve spoken to aren’t laying money on the dog.
And since we’re talking Valentine’s, the 26-year-old Omaha boy is also easy on the eyes, with rugged, corn-fed good looks to go with a great personality. (And last I checked he was an eligible bachelor. Of course, he may be a tough catch considering he lives and trains in L.A.)
The hype leading into the fight is about Ellenberger flying through the older, more weathered Sanchez and then facing off against Condit for the interim belt in a very intriguing rematch — instead of us waiting for the latter to face Georges St-Pierre to unify the titles sometime in November, or later.
Hold your horses.
This sounds eerily similar to what everyone was saying a couple of weeks ago about Nick Diaz. He was going to run through Condit and then we’d all finally get the anticipated matchup against St-Pierre.
Well Condit, who was himself a big underdog against Diaz, said in the weeks leading up to their Super Bowl-weekend fight that he was going to spoil the party. And that he did, out-pointing the former Strikeforce champion to take home the “booty.”
Can Sanchez do the same to Ellenberger? I say, why not?
No, he hasn’t been knocking out opponents like Ellenberger has — his last stoppage was in June 2008 against Luigi Fioravanti, who has long since left the UFC — and prior to his current two-fight win streak, the 30-year-old dropped two straight fights for the first time in over two years.
But one of those was in December 2009 in his last fight at 155 pounds … and it was against B.J. Penn … for the lightweight championship … and he lasted four-and-a-half rounds before being stopped due to a cut.
He was overwhelmed and slightly outclassed by a longtime champion. But it also displayed some of his moxie.
After the Penn loss, he moved back to welterweight, where he had fought for the majority of his career. While he dropped a one-sided decision in his May 2010 return, it was against a much younger and hungry John Hathaway, as Sanchez was getting accustomed again to the higher weight class.
Since then, he’s won unanimous decisions over top contenders Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann in the past 16 months, and while both results were quite close and controversial, it certainly showed his renewed focus and dedication to fighting.
Back when he lost those two straight fights, he was called “The Nightmare.” But he was dealing with some personal demons, and prior to the Kampmann fight he switched his nickname to “The Dream,” hoping to focus on more positive thoughts.
This is certainly the right time of year for positive feelings. And he could be primed for another big upset on Wednesday.
“The fact that people aren’t talking about me for a title shot doesn’t bother me,” Sanchez said Monday. “Ellenberger has five wins in the UFC and some impressive ones. It all gets factored in.
“I have two Fight of the Nights but, for me, to get that title shot I’m really going to have to earn it. So I’m going to have to go in there and beat the guy who everyone says is going to get the title shot … I have to beat him convincingly and that’s what I came to Omaha to do.”
This Valentine’s Day, Sanchez is dreaming that he’ll be the one invited to the welterweight title dance.
Watch UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific on Wednesday starting at 8 p.m. ET.
HEART OF MATTERS
— Speaking of high-school reminiscing, it’s apropos that this event is taking place in Omaha, because it reminds me of the song of the same name by a band I used to listen to with my then-girlfriend (now wife), Counting Crows. Yes, they were one of my favourite bands. And am I now revealing my age? (Bonus points to anyone who gets the reference in the sub-heading above.)
— Speaking of revealing my age, Canadian Ivan Menjivar, who takes on John Albert in the first fight of the televised card, is just 29 years old but will be competing in his 32nd career professional fight. That’s six years younger than me. And I’m years away from my pro debut (not happening).
