Diego Sanchez will be stepping back into the octagon after his controversial win earlier this year as he'll take on Jake Matthews at UFC 253. The big welterweight contest was confirmed alongside two preliminary bouts for the upcoming pay-per-view.
Sanchez is coming off a disqualification win over Michel Pereira at UFC Fight Night 167. The MMA veteran’s record in his last five fights is a mixed bag as Sanchez has won three bouts, also dropping Craig White (via unanimous decision at UFC 228) and Mickey Gall (via TKO at UFC 235). Sanchez’s professional record currently stands at 30 wins and 12 losses.
Matthews is currently in the midst of a two-fight winning streak, beating Rostem Akman (via unanimous decision at UFC 243) and Emil Weber Meek (via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 168). Should the welterweight beat Sanchez on Saturday, September 19, then it will be the biggest win of his career. Matthews’ professional record currently stands at 16 wins and 4 losses.
In addition, a featherweight fight between Brad Riddell and Alex Da Silva, and a lightweight bout between Nate Landwehr and Shane Young was also confirmed for the show. Check out the updated match-card below:
UFC Middleweight Championship: Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Jan Blachowicz vs. Dominick Reyes
Donald Cerrone vs. Niko Price
Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval
Claudia Gadelha vs. Xiaonan Yan
Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Ciryl Gane
Heili Alateng vs. Casey Kenney
David Dvorak vs. Jordan Espinosa
Jake Matthews vs. Diego Sanchez
Brad Riddell vs. Alex da Silva
Nate Landwehr vs. Shane Young