Looks like Diego Sanchez will be hanging around the welterweight division for at least another fight as the new-look "Nightmare" has been penciled in to face off against division stalwart Martin Kampmann at the upcoming UFC on Versus 3 event on March 3.
MMAmania.com learned of the pending match-up earlier today.
After former lightweight champion B.J. Penn bounced him from the 155-pound division, Sanchez came up short in his welterweight return against John Hathaway at UFC 114 earlier this year, getting beaten to the punch and basically pushed around for three rounds en route to a lopsided unanimous decision loss.
Then the Albuquerque native went back to basics, embracing the style that got him to the big show in the first place -- and he had a little help from his old mentor, uber-trainer Greg Jackson.
Reuniting with Jackson paid off at UFC 121 back in October with an action-packed unanimous decision win over Brazilian supercop Paulo Thiago. It seems the "Nightmare" is indeed back.
But back for good? Martin Kampmann may have something to say about that.
The Dane looked not-so-great in his task of welcoming former Strikeforce Champion Jake Shields to the Octagon when they butted heads, also at UFC 121.
While "The Hitman" was outgunned in his split decision loss, his defeat had more to do with his gameplan than it did his skill set. Once Shields emptied his tank, Kampmann inexplicably continued to take things to the ground -- despite his marked advantage on the feet.
The loss was just his second as a welterweight, having previously been mugged by the now-exiled Paul Daley at UFC 103 back in 2009.
No question he'll be looking to get himself back into the mix against Sanchez and it's not a stretch to consider this pending scrap an early candidate for "Fight of the Night."
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on this still-developing fight card.
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