Watch UFC Live on Sportsnet
Posted February 15, 2012 4:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Sportsnet is the place to be again for UFC fans on Wednesday as a welterweight tilt with potential title implications will headline the first midweek show in nearly a year.
Watch UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger on Sportsnet East and Ontario starting at 8 p.m. ET (tape-delayed on other regional channels — check local listings).
Also, follow live undercard results starting at 6 p.m. ET. The prelims will be shown on the UFC’s Facebook page.
In the main event, Diego Sanchez looks to win his third fight in a row as he takes on Jake Ellenberger, who is trying to extend his win streak to six.
Ironically, Sanchez’s last win was at the last event not to take place on a weekend (Friday, Saturday or Sunday), when UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann was held on a Thursday in Louisville, Ky., on March 3, 2011. Sanchez defeated Martin Kampmann by unanimous decision at that first UFC event in the state of Kentucky.
This event will be the second in Omaha and first since Sept. 17, 2008 (also a Wednesday) when Nate Diaz defeated Josh Neer in the main event of a UFC Fight Night.
While Wednesday’s headliner is the only fight with immediate title considerations, there are plenty of other fighters who could jump into the mix in their respective divisions with a win.
In the co-main event, Dave (Pee-Wee) Herman eyes his fourth straight victory and second in the UFC after knocking out John-Olav Einemo last June in Vancouver, while his opponent Stefan Struve will try to make it four out of his last five in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
Middleweight Aaron Simpson goes after his fourth straight in the UFC and opponent Ronny Markes looks to make it six in a row coming off a win over Karlos Vemola in his Octagon debut in August.
And in a fight that was promoted to the main card late last week, Montreal’s Ivan Menjivar hopes for his third consecutive victory in his second stint in the UFC as he takes on John Albert, who won in his official UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 14 finale in December after he earned entry into the TUF house with a qualifying win on the reality show.
While Menjivar is only 29 years old, he has been fighting since 2001 (with a break of nearly four years when he was starting a family). He thinks a victory can put him in contention in the relatively new bantamweight class, but he’s in no rush to go after the title.
“My goal is to be in the top 10 this year,” the El Salvador native said. “I don’t want to push myself too hard because one day I’d like a chance to go for that belt. (But) I want to be completely ready.
“One of my coaches tells me, you have to train like an F1 to compete against F1 cars. So right now, I’m in good shape, but I need to have the good timing, the good team, everything needs to be good to be at that level.”
NOTES: The UFC announced Tuesday that the main card for next weekend’s UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan will consist of seven fights — instead of the usual five — on a four-hour pay-per-view. The start time will not change, however; the pay-per-view will begin at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, Feb. 25 in North America (locally Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Saitama Super Arena).
It is headlined by the lightweight title bout between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson, with Quinton (Rampage) Jackson and Ryan Bader in the co-main event. Rounding out the main card will be Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo, Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields, Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch, Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski and Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon.
