Diego Sanchez ‘Heartbroken’ That He Will Not Be Able to Fight Matt Hughes at UFC 135

It was a tough Labor Day for UFC welterweight Diego Sanchez.

Just a few days ago he was preparing for a co-main event fight at UFC 135 against Matt Hughes, when his hard training resulted in a broken hand that forced him to call UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and break the bad news.

Sanchez had to drop out of the fight, and as of Monday night there’s been no determination on how long he’ll be on the sidelines dealing with the broken hand.

The former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner was gutted to have to break the news to his management and to the UFC, because he was hitting new plateaus in his training to get ready for UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes.

“I am heartbroken that I have to inform MMA fans that I cannot fight Matt Hughes at UFC 135 later this month,” Sanchez said in a release. “I have never physically felt more prepared to compete than I felt for this fight, which makes this even more painful for me.”

The injury is a set back for Sanchez who was looking to build on his last couple of victories, and start making his way back towards the top ten in the welterweight division.

The broken hand will put Sanchez out of action for an undetermined amount of time, but no one is more upset about not fighting at UFC 135 than the Team Jackson trained fighter.

“While I do not know right now when I will return, I want to assure all of the fans out there that I will be back in the Octagon as soon as I am 100 percent healthy,” Sanchez said.

Currently, Matt Hughes is still on the UFC 135 card most likely facing replacement Josh Koscheck who has accepted the fight offer from the promotion.

The only hold up now is waiting for Hughes to accept the new bout for Denver in just a few weeks.

Sanchez will recover at home in New Mexico until doctors give him clearance to return to training. It’s unknown at this time if he will be able to return in 2011 or not.