Diego Sanchez got back to winning ways tonight at UFC Fight Night 98 by outgrappling Marcin Held over the course of three rounds.
Round One:
Body kick for Sanchez, and then a low leg kick. Good right hand for former Bellator fighter Held now.
Head kick upstairs for Sanchez almost catches Held by surprise. Good knee in close from Held. stepping jab from Held.
Flying front kick misses for Sanchez. Held in on a takedown attempt against the cage, but Sanchez defends it and moves away.
Body punch from Sanchez. He surges forward with a flurry that’s mostly just out of range. He lands a body kick as Held comes forward.
Hard straight right from Held. He lands a good uppercut now. nice shot-picking from the newcomer. Cartwheel kick from Held actually lands.
nice jab for Held. He’s showing good accuracy so far in the opening round. Sanchez comes marauding forward and changes levels for a takedown. Held defending against the cage and then tries a guillotine choke. It’s actually in tight and Sanchez looks to be in trouble for a moment, but remarkably he scrambles up the cage and then rebounds off it to escape!
Immediately Sanchez goes on the offense, firing off strikes as Held takes a few deep breaths, and a big hook appears to wobble Held slightly as the round ends.
Round Two:
They begiin striking, but then Held drops down with a leg lock attempt, which is his speciality. Sanchez does well to defend it and eventually manages to get out, but almost immediately Held goes for a heel hook.
Again Sanchez rides out the submission and then ends up on top in his opponent’s guard. elbow to the body from Sanchez. Mid-way point of the round and he lands another blow.
Sanchez mainly settling for control here. he gets to half guard. Held scrambles, but Sanchez stays in top control, though back in full guard.
Sanchez moves to Held’s back in the final 10 seconds of the round and lands a couple of punches.
Round Three:
Held looked extremely tired inbetween rounds, with the Mexico City altitude likely to be taking it’s toll.
Sanchez with body punches. Held tries for a takedown, but it’s stuffed. He does land a knee though.
Held in again on the takedown, but it fails and Sanchez gets on top and tries to take his back. Held scrambling as he looks for a possible Omaplata.
Sanchez frees himself from that. Held still trying for a leg lock, but Sanchez is just to savvy for it and is able to escape.
Held not giving up on the submission gameplan though, briefly trying a toe hold. Sanchez in half-guard now. He lands a nice elbow to the head.
A minute to go now with Sanchez closing in on a decision victory if he can keep the fight here. Elbows for Sanchez. He almost gets to full mount, then opts to just land some final ground and pound before the round ends. We’re headed to the scorecards.
Decision:
While he’s largely known as a brawler these days, Sanchez’s grappling game has always been solid and he showed it in this fight, earning himself a unanimous decision victory (29-28 x2, 29-27).
