Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez expected for UFC 135 in Denver
The bout with no home has finally been pinned to an event.As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported in April, Matt Hughes (45-8 MMA, 18-6 UFC) and Diego Sanchez (23-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) have agreed to meet on Sept. 24 at the as-yet-unannounced UFC 135 event, which is expected to take place at Pepsi Center in Denver.
UFC officials first announced the contest in April but cited only that the bout would take place at a "fall event."
Hughes first hinted at the location on his official website, and Sanchez today took to Twitter to confirm the details.
"Fighting in Denver, Sept. 24," Sanchez wrote. "Mark your calendars!"
The UFC hasn't hosted an event in Denver since "UFC: Ultimate Ultimate 1995" back in 1995. The Colorado city also hosted UFC 1 and UFC 2 in 1993 and 1994, respectively.
Recently, the UFC has chosen nearby Broomfield, Colo., as a host site. Both UFC on Versus 1 (2010) and UFC Fight Night 13 (2008) took place at the city's 1STBANK Center (formerly Broomfield Event Center).
Sanchez recently picked up his second straight win with a close but highly competitive unanimous-decision victory over Martin Kampmann at March's UFC on Versus 3 event. "The Ultimate Fighter 1" middleweight winner and recent lightweight competitor returned to his more natural welterweight division in 2010 and suffered an uninspired decision loss to John Hathaway. However, he's since rebounded with wins over Paulo Thiago and Kampmann that both earned "Fight of the Night" awards.
The Greg Jackson-trained fighter now meets Hughes, who hasn't fought since November 2010, when he suffered a quick, 21-second knockout to B.J. Penn. Hughes, long considered the best welterweight in MMA history, briefly considered retirement in 2008 following back-to-back losses to Georges St-Pierre and Alves. However, while fighting only occasionally, the H.I.T. Squad fighter had put together a three-fight win streak with wins over Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida before the recent Penn loss.
For the latest on UFC 135 and other upcoming events, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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