Two of the most popular and talented fighters in the UFC, B.J. Penn and Diego Sanchez, will meet in a welterweight showdown at UFC 74 on August 25, according to Sherdog.com.
Penn of course just stopped Jens Pulver at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale in a lightweight clash. He was at the top in terms of competing for the 155-pound title, but it appears that the Hawaiian is more comfortable at 170 pounds.
Sanchez was already rumored to be on the card that evening at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, a report from a local television station in his hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., last month reported that his opponent would be Hayato Sakurai.
That seems to no longer be the case with thanks to "inside sources" from Sherdog.
Sanchez is looking to rebound after a staph infection and terrible showing against Josh Koscheck at UFC 69 -- his first career loss. "The Nightmare" was on track to contend for the welterweight championship before the upset.
Without a doubt, a win over the uber-talented Penn would put him right back in the hunt. Likewise for Penn, a former 170-pound champion, a win over Sanchez will get him that much closer to avenging his losses to Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre and reclaiming his title.
St. Pierre and Koscheck are also fighting on the UFC 74 card for the right to challenge the winner of UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra and Matt Hughes early in 2008.
With UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture also defending his belt against Gabriel Gonzaga, the addition of a Penn-Sanchez clash would no doubt make UFC 74, once again, one of the more "stacked" cards in recent memory.
I can get used to this real easy.
For the developing UFC 74 fight card click here.
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