UFC's Diego Sanchez concedes ill-advised featherweight drop, now back to lightweight

Diego Sanchez

Two months after a decision loss to onetime featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas, Diego Sanchez is conceding he bit off more than he could chew.

The UFC veteran on Tuesday announced via Twitter that his next fight will be at lightweight, where he’s fought a good portion of his career. His brief flirtation with featherweight made him one of only two fighters to attempt wins in four different weight classes.

“It was a bit to much weight to cut without (IVs),” Sanchez posted on Twitter.

This past November, Sanchez, the only fighter from “The Ultimate Fighter 1” still competing in the UFC, dropped to 145 pounds to face Lamas. Earlier in the year, he appeared to be within striking distance of a fight with Conor McGregor, with whom he traded insults online.

Sanchez said McGregor was the reason he contemplated a move to featherweight.

The move nearly paid off. McGregor later revealed UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta liked the matchup with the now-featherweight champion, but for reasons unknown, UFC President Dana White nixed it.

The week of his fight with Lamas (16-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC), Sanchez (25-8 MMA, 14-8 UFC) appeared to be struggling mightily with the effects of weight loss. He spoke openly about his battle with hunger in competing lighter than ever before.

Sanchez made the 145-pound mark, but he was outstruck over three rounds by Lamas, another McGregor rival who once went so far as to shoot a parody video of the Irish champ.

With fighters no longer able to rehydrate intravenously, per the UFC’s new anti-doping program administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Sanchez’s move is one small illustration of the ban’s effect, which has been criticized by some fighters and weight-cutting experts.

Prior to his fight with Lamas, Sanchez said his use of a supplement called Instant Knockout Fat Burner – a sponsor – allowed him to walk around at 170 pounds instead of his usual 190.

But now, Sanchez won’t need the extra help. It’s unclear whether his announcement is a prelude to a fight booking. The next time fans see him in the cage, however, he’ll fill out his frame a little more.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.