Monday Morning Hangover: What’s next for Diego Sanchez after KO loss in Nashville?

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 108 blew the roof off Bridgestone Arena last Saturday (April 22, 2017) in Nashville, Tennessee.

For complete UFC Fight Night 108 results and coverage click here.

Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Artem Lobov, who -- despite hanging tough -- couldn’t do enough to defeat longtime veteran Cub Swanson in the main event of the evening (see it again here). And Jake Ellenberger, who was knocked out cold by Mike Perry during their welterweight bout (highlights).

But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?

Diego Sanchez.

Going into his Lightweight scrap against Al Iaquinta, Sanchez was hoping to secure back-to-back victories for the first time since 2010-2011, as “Lionheart” has alternated wins and losses for the last six years. While that’s good enough to maintain employment under the UFC banner, it doesn’t do much for the aging combatant’s title aspirations.

And Diego continued his trend, getting knocked out by Iaquinta in the very first round of their co-headlining bout (relive it here). It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially considering that “Raging” hadn’t stepped foot inside the Octagon in over two years. Perhaps ring rust is nothing but a myth, as Iaquinta took it to the longtime veteran en route to his fourth straight win.

Then this happened.

Staying classy in defeat, Sanchez jumped on social media to congratulate his foe, since he didn’t get the chance to do so inside the cage.

Thankfully, the CT Scan came back okay.

That said, the future is uncertain for Sanchez. A veteran of the fight game professionally for 15 years, Diego has seen his fair share of wars in and out of the Octagon.

As the last remaining active UFC fighter from the original Ultimate Fighter (TUF) cast, Sanchez has competed a whopping 26 times inside the Octagon at the age of 35. While retirement is always an option, I don’t expect Sanchez to hang ‘em up anytime soon, despite his health issues.

Diego is a warrior through and through, as he always brings it win, lose, or draw. He’s done plenty in the fight game and has entertained MMA fans throughout his career, so if he decided to take an extended break from the hurt business, most would understand, and perhaps even encourage it.

If he chooses to return sometime this year, a showdown against Bobby Green might be in order. “King” has also experienced his fair share of woes inside the Octagon as of late, losing three straight after coming up short against Rashid Magomedov at UFC on FOX 24 just last week.

Both like to bang it out on the feet and since they’ve each seen better days inside the eight-sided cage, you know they’ll lay it all on the line in order to pick up a much-needed win.

Anyone have a better idea?