· Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez On Tap For The Fall

Just days after word surfaced that UFC Hall of Fame fighter Royce Gracie was calling for a rematch with former welterweight champion Matt Hughes, the UFC has announced that Diego Sanchez is up next for Hughes. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the bout, but no other details are known at this time except that the bout will take place sometime in the fall.

“A matchup between two welterweight fan favorites has been verbally agreed to as Diego “The Dream” Sanchez will face former UFC welterweight champion and Hall of Famer Matt Hughes,” UFC President Dana White stated. “Sanchez is coming off of a 'Fight of Night' winning performance against Martin Kampmann and Hughes is looking to add another great victory to his incredible UFC career.”

Hughes enjoys the distinction of being one of the most dominant champions in mixed martial arts history. He captured the welterweight title on two separate occasions and defended the title seven times in total. That record was only recently broken by Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.

Since losing his title to Georges St-Pierre in November 2006, his career has been up and down. Including the loss to GSP, Hughes lost three of four fights—being finished by technical knockout or submission in all three losses. He then went on to win three in a row including a close decision over bitter rival Matt Serra and stoppages over Ricardo Almeida and Renzo Gracie. His most recent fight was quick knockout loss to B.J. Penn last November.

Diego Sanchez has also witnessed highs and lows in his career as of late. After winning the first 17 fights in his career, Sanchez lost two fights in a row. The first loss of his career was to bitter rival Josh Koshcheck followed by a loss to Koscheck's training partner Jon Fitch.

Competing two more times at welterweight, both wins, Sanchez dropped to lightweight and after two wins there, earned a title shot against then champion B.J. Penn. Penn devastated Sanchez and opened a nasty gash on Sanchez's head resulting in a TKO loss.

Following the failed title opportunity, Sanchez returned to welterweight with a loss to John Hathaway at UFC 114 in May of 2010. Since loss, Sanchez has defeated both Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann, both earning "Fight of the Night" honors.