When fans consider the inaugural season of»The Ultimate Fighter,» Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar instantly come to mind as a consequence of the instant classic. Therefore, its only suiting that the very first ever Ultimate Fighter be the last to depart the UFC. No, I am not talking about Forrest Griffin. The fight between Bonnar and Griffin during the TUF’s Season 1 Finale single-handedly helped deliver the UFC into the mainstream. Dana White later known as it Zuffa’s»Trojan Horse». However, in doing so, it overshadowed the fact that Diego Sanchez was actually the first ever Ultimate Fighter winner, having conquered Kenny Florian to take home the middleweight TUF crown earlier in the day. With all of the former cast members on the show either retired or not employed by the UFC, the sole exception remains to be Sanchez. The first to be crowned remains to be the last to grace the Octagon. When the contestants were first announced for»The Ultimate Fighter 1,» Sanchez was the fighter with the most hype surrounding him. Since the undefeated King of the Cage winner, he backed up that poetry in the Octagon winning all four of his fights, with three first-round stoppages such as a entry over Florian in the Finale. The true principal event of the card was fully overshadowed as Rich Franklin scored the biggest win of his career at the time over Ken Shamrock. For the average battle enthusiast Sanchez dominance of this series is easily forgotten as TUF 1 seems like it was forever ago. Lots can happen over a decade, and Sanchez’s lengthy r??sum?? proves it. He’s won a lot of fights and lost some, hopped branches, got popped for bud, earned six»Fight of the Night» bonuses and two»Fight of the Year» (2006 Karo Parisyan, 2009 Clay Guida) honours, missing a lightweight name tip to then-champ BJ Penn, changed his nickname in the»Nightmare» to the»Dream» and back into the»Nightmare» again and let’s not forget about him devising the Yes! Cartwheel, simply to name a couple. Total going to war within the Octagon on 21 separate occasions amassing as 14-7 record. According to his age and durability it was almost expected that Sanchez is going to be the final fighter we see within the Octagon and rightfully so. Much was said about the whole cast of the series to the extent that Dana White said that he was basically looking to induct the whole TUF 1 cast into the UFC Hall of fame. It’s been a well documented success story deserving of fairy tale type end. However, what remains to be viewed from the die hard MMA fans is… IMG_1728Will Diego Sanchez go out having a swan song of epic proportions in hopes of construction upon The Ultimate Fighter Seasons 1 already cemented legacy? Diego Sanchez would tell you YES! YES! YES! Looking at Sanchez’s recent time as a fighter, it’s more unlikely that anything of importance will come from the remaining time of the once famed career. The probable scenario and ultimate end game is identical to that of the vast majority of the rest of the TUF 1 cast members. The consensus is that many of the TUF 1 cast members went outside with a whimper facing exactly the same troubling realities that Sanchez currently faces a daily basis: accidents and age. The majority of the contestants basically were forced into retirement. As lovers of the UFC, let us expect Diego Sanchez may break this tendency and go out with a bang as it is likely he will not go out anywhere close to the top. Finishing on a winning notice is the best case scenario for»The Nightmare» at this stage in his profession. Taking a photo of Sanchez’s professional career, it’s likely he’ll leave the UFC kicking and screaming like many others before him. What remains to be told is how and when. One can’t deny it. The writing is on the wall without any real expectation of championship ambitions in the near future. Settle back and revel in the final of this TUF 1 showcase. But, dependent on Diego’s Sanchez latest turns of a events in his career prepare for a sad ending. The dropping down in weight classes and layoff because of rehabbing injuries it is creating a recipe for disaster. Basically it won’t be a dream come true for your nightmare. Quoting Connor McGregor at 2013:»The guy really is a has-been.» IMG_1727Sanchez is expected to face Ricardo Lamas at a featherweight bout on November 21, 2015 in The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. This will be Sanchez introduction at featherweight despite the fact he was the middleweight TUF 1 winner. Sanchez is hoping to take a run at championship glory despite facing the longest layoff of his professional MMA profession (1 year 4 Months) and at 33 years old. The layoff is due to a broken collarbone suffered in training. Many pundits credit the announcement he’s falling a weight class for a way to acquire an eventually fight against Connor McGregor. However, many MMA handicappers see this because of weakness because of an effort by Sanchez to stay relevant. Though many MMA mainstream fans fail to crown Diego Sanchez since the original Ultimate Fighter, he’s out lasted all of them. Being the youngest of the TUF 1 fighters it continues to function in his benefit but he is fighting the age old question of time. Irrespective of how durable Sanchez could be, it remains to be seen if he could pass this last test. As his admirable career rolls , it is clear Sanchez is no more immune from the injury bug. Still, there has to be something said for being the last of a dying breed. That accomplishment alone is deserving of all our admiration since it has left us without a doubt he will always remain to be the roughest of the TUF. The initial Ultimate Fighter to be plotted within the Octagon and the last to depart.
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