Bellator 252: Emmanuel Sanchez looking for revenge over Daniel Weichel in featherweight...

[ASFN Admin]

Emmanuel Sanchez aims to finish the first chapter of his ‘legendary story’ with revenge over old foe Dan Weichel at Bellator 252. The Bellator featherweights go to war for the second time in their careers this Thursday in the highly-anticipated and long-postponed quarter-finals of the Bellator featherweight grand prix. Sanchez, 30, came out on the losing end of his 2016 encounter with Weichel and has had to wait a further eight months for the rematch to be rescheduled after the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the original March fight date. At the top of the bill will be reigning champion Patricio Pitbull’s showdown with bitter rival Pedro Carvalho and Sanchez is praying the belt doesn’t change hands. “I didn’t anticipate the champion to be on the same side as me, but I picked the toughest side,” he said. “There’s two guys (Weichel and Pitbull) who have a win over me. “I’m pulling for the champion and I want him to win because I want that win back too. It wasn’t meant for me to beat Daniel Weichel in Kansas in 2016 and it wasn’t meant for me to beat Patricio Pitbull in Israel in 2018 and now here we are.@ “There’s a lot more on the line too with the stakes and the platform we’re on. I’m looking to write a legendary story, avenge these losses and win the featherweight grand prix.” Putting right the wrongs of his defeats and becoming featherweight champion in the process would be an epic comeback for a fighter who has spent six years on the Bellator roster. “That’s the story I’m trying to write,’ Sanchez explained, and the ‘Matador’ is convinced he is a different fighter to the one who lost a split decision to Weichel four years ago. “A lot of people ask me what’s different about my game and it’s my significant other,” he said. “Our company we have built up, being able to help other team-mates, making championship weight no problem and being able to perform at our best. For me it was not a lack of skill, more so being able to put that into my game. “It’s like a supplement, to fuel my body to perform at its best potential. I believe I’ve shown that a lot in my recent fights. The growth and experiences, I’m thankful for the victories but for the losses too. “That what’s helped me grow as a fighter and as a man. I’ve put that into my training and each of my fights too.” Sanchez is trained by one of MMA’s most well-respected coaches, Duke Roufus. The former kickboxer has guided many fighters to championship gold, including former UFC champions Tyron Woodley and Anthony Pettis and Bellator champion Ben Askren. While writing a legendary comeback story is important to Sanchez, the American also wants to emulate the likes of boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez and be remembered as a kind of ‘ghost’ in the cage. “[Roufus] really wanted me to emulate and fight like Jorge Linares, Oscar De La Hoya, Canelo Alvarez and now we see that in Ryan Garcia,” he said. “As they say, the bull is stronger but the matador is smarter. Even the greatest, Muhammad Ali said that. I believe I live up to that. “For me, I know someone is going to go out there and try to kill me. But float like a butterfly, sting like a bee and the hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see. I’m going to be like a ghost in there. “Don’t get hit, you can’t touch this - you know what I’m saying. I know I want to be one of the grittiest, come forward fighters but also I want to be one of the slickest fighters in this era.” If the fight is anything like Sanchez is talking, it promises to be epic. Bellator 252 is live on Sky Sports on Thursday night at midnight.

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