5 Reasons Why Martin Kampmann Could Beat Diego Sanchez

We’re now only a few days away from the third installment of the UFC’s “UFC on Versus” or “UFC Live” series, a show that usually measures somewhere above a “Fight Night Live” outing but below a Pay-Per-Per Event. In the main event, a resurgent Diego Sanchez looks to tackle tough challenger Martin Kampmann, who recently came very close to spoiling the UFC debut of former Strikeforce and EliteXC Champion Jake Shields. So who will win this encounter? Here’s my answer to just that: it’s time for another “5 Reasons Why”, and first up we have the five reasons why I think Martin Kampmann could beat Diego Sanchez. Let’s get right to it, with the reverse soon to follow.

5. Kampmann is talented in all major areas of the game.

Although several of his recent fights have gone to a decision, an overwhelming majority of Martin Kampmann’s professional MMA fights have ended with Kampmann scoring a stoppage win: of twenty-one fights he’s won seventeen, those seventeen wins include thirteen finishes. And those thirteen finishes are split nearly down the middle, with Kampmann holding seven wins by (T)KO and six by submission.

4.Kampmann knows that his welterweight relevancy is at stake in this fight.

Kampmann really can’t afford to lose this bout, and I think he knows that very well. If Kampmann beats Sanchez, he pretty much guarantees himself a shot at a top 10 Welterweight in his next fight. If he loses, it’s back to the mid-level, and that is absolutely not where Martin Kampmann wants to be right now.

3. Kampmann has never lost twice in a row.

The battle scars of Diego Sanchez’s run at Lightweight have only just begun to heal. It’ll take a long time before Sanchez fully emerges from the shadow of the utter schooling he received at the hands of BJ Penn. He then went on to lose to John Hathaway, marking the second time in Sanchez’s career that he lost two fights in a row. Kampmann has never lost two in a row, and that’s a real confidence booster heading into a fight against someone who has lost two in a row on two separate occasions, with both occasions having at least one fight where Sanchez’s opponent dominated him.

2. Kampmann has halted comebacks and win-streaks before.

Thales Leites entered the UFC an unbeaten 9-0 submission machine… then lost to Martin Kampmann. Jorge Rivera had just brutally KO’d Kendall Grove… and then Martin Kampmann submitted him. Carlos Condit entered the UFC as the last WEC Welterweight Champion, a belt he successfully defended on three separate occasions, finishing each and every one of those bouts… and then he lost to Martin Kampmann. Kampmann has made a habit out of giving fighters a rude awakening just when it looked like they were in the middle of something big, and that experience will be one of the integral keys to beating Diego Sanchez.

And the number one reason why I think Martin Kampmann could beat Diego Sanchez is…

1. Martin Kampmann is always a dangerous opponent.

There’s really no other way to describe it. Even though he’s never managed to outright win a shot at the championship, that shouldn’t overshadow the fact that Martin Kampmann has been hovering around the top of the UFC’s welterweight division since he made the drop from Middleweight back in January 2009. In a way, Martin Kampmann is the UFC’s 170-pound gatekeeper, and that’s a role that’s worked out very well for him, winning four of six bouts. Martin Kampmann is a threat to anyone at any time, and that’s the biggest reason I think he could end up beating Diego Sanchez.

So that’s what I think, fans and friends. Stay tuned for the next part of today’s “5 Reasons Why” two-parter, it’ll be up soon. But for now: do you see Martin Kampmann beating Diego Sanchez? Why or why not?