The PFL are returning on Friday when they head over to Salt Lake City. This week we will see the lightweight and the light heavyweight seasons complete their regular season phases. After this set of fights, we will be able to see who will be facing who in the playoffs. Last week we saw fighters like Dakota Ditcheva, Tim Johnson and Denis Goltsov all secure their place in the playoffs in their weight divisions. Before his upcoming fight against Karl Albrektsson, Combat Sports UK was able to speak to Andrew Sanchez before his prelim fight this Friday.
Andrew Sanchez is coming into this tie with a record of 14-7 being able to get the victory in his previous 2 fights. Throughout his career, Andrew Sanchez has been able to compete in some of the biggest organisations. This has included PFl as well as the UFC. Andrew Sanchez was able to win The Ultimate Fighter Season 23. This awarded Andrew Sanchez a UFC contract and out of his 10 UFC fighters, Sanchez went 5-5. Combat Sports UK was able to speak about his upcoming fighter and about his preparation as he prepares to take on Karl Albrektsson in a prelim fight.
Andrew Sanchez Reflects on Ultimate Fighter Season 23
Andrew Sanchez competed on the 23rd season of the Ultimate Fighter. Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Cláudia Gadelha were the coaches in that season. Throughout that season many different fighters were able to get themselves into the UFC. These included Andrew Sanchez, Khalil Rountree, Tatiana Suarez, JJ Aldrich and many more between the Men’s Light heavyweights and Women’s Strawweight Division.
Throughout his time in The Ultimate Fighter, Andrew Sanchez was able to become the first pick for team Cláudia Gadelha. Andrew Sanchez would be able to reward Cláudia with 3 victories. This would end up clinching him the title and the contract. Andrew Sanchez was able to get the unanimous decision victory over Myron Dennis. This was before knocking out Eric Spicely in the first round before getting the unanimous decision victory over Khalil Rountree in the final. Explaining how he felt after winning the show Andrew Sanchez explained;
“winning tuf 23 was definately one of the highlights of my career and one of my most memorable moments in life, however that’s just a memory now to me. I believe I was meant for more, I feel I havnt showcased my abilities properly thus far in my career and I plan on doing this in PFL”
This shows that Andrew Sanchez does tressure the memory of winning the show. He will be able to take out the benefits from the show but also believes he wasn’t able to show his best ability. However, he will now have the chance to do this in the PFL. While Andrew Sanchez may not have been able to showcase his best self he will be able to take some advantages from the show. This is due to Sanchez being able to train with the best coaches in the game. He will be able to use this coaching to try and get the victory this Friday.
Fighting in the UFC
After being able to get the victory over Khalil Rountree in the final of The Ultimate Fighter. Andrew Sanchez would be awarded a UFC contract. Andrew Sanchez would go on and fight 10 times in the UFC. During his time in the UFC Sanchez was able to get victories over Trevor Smith and Marc-André Barriault as he left the UFC with a 5-5 record under the UFC banner. I was able to ask Sanchez how it felt to be able to fight in the UFC and what he has learned since fighting over there. Sanchez explained;
“It was great but I was definately green in the sport and still learning and growing on the fly. I had a lot of gaps in my game back then and have always felt like I got in a bit early. I feel like now is the time that I am finally reaching my full potential.”
While Sanchez does recognise fighting in the UFC was a very good opportunity for him he does also think it was too soon. Sanchez believes when he was signed there were still a lot of different things he needed to improve on. However, while there were a lot of improvements that needed to be made Sanchez believes this has now been completed and he is now able to push on in the PFL.
Reflection on Split Decision Victory against Taylor Johnson
Currently, Andrew Sanchez is on a two-fight winning streak. This is due to Sanchez being able to get the unanimous decision victory over Gabriel Checco in Eagle FC. Sanchez would be able to follow this up when he got the split decision victory over Taylor Johnson in a prelim fight in last season’s PFL 4 card. I was able to ask Sanchez how he thought that split decision fight went and what has he taken from that fight to improve on. Explaining how he thought the fight went Sanchez said;
“that fight was tough because I was dealing with an injury that made it so I couldn’t train properly. but coming through with the win was a mental obstacle I was able to over come. It’s my mental that has come a long way in the last several years , as well as my technical. Im much more mature as a fighter and confident in my abilities and my ability to overcome.”
This shows that even dealing with an injury he was still able to get the victory. Sanchez wasn’t able to train at his best and come into that fight at 100 per cent fight-ready but he was still able to go out and get the victory. This showed Sanchez how tough he was. He knows his mental side of the game has improved so much over the years and he is now a much more mature fighter. He is also much more confident in his abilities to go out and get the victory.
Training Camp
Training Camp can help a fighter being able to get an advantage right before the bell rings. This is due to the fighter being able to watch the tape over their opponent to try and find any weaknesses. Not only can they spot the weaknesses they can work on this to be able to get the advantage. Sanchez wasn’t able to get to have the best training last time out due to an injury however, he was still able to get the victory. However, while he was able to get the victory it was only due to a split decision victory. I was able to ask Sanchez how he thought this training camp had been going into this fight. Sanchez explained about his training camp when he said;
“fantastic, I’m living up in the mountains of Colorado at 9000 feet, i have a word class medical team making sure I’m tip Top physically and mentally, I have made big improvements in my skills training at genesis training academy in Denver, and I’m peaking at the perfect time which has been a problem for me in the past. I have trained non stop since my last fight and I look forward to showing off my skills”
Andrew Sanchez has been able to get through this training camp feeling a lot more positive than last time out. Sanchez has been able to live in the Colorado Mountains being able to get used to the altitude. This should be able to improve his cardio which should mean he doesn’t get as tired as his opponent. If he is able to have more energy he will be able to land more shots and more powerful shots later on. Andrew Sanchez can use this to be able to convince the judges even more that Sanchez has won that round. This may be the difference between a unanimous decision victory to a split decision defeat.
Weaknesses of His Opponent
During the training camp process, Sanchez will of watched some footage of his opponent to see where to take this fight. Sanchez will have been able to see what his opponent does well and what he needs to improve on to be able to exploit this in the fight. Explaining what he has seen so far Andrew Sanchez explained;
“karl is a skilled fighter, but my speed and well rounded-Ness will be the difference”
While Andrew Sanchez is praising Karl for being a well-rounded fighter who can take the fight anywhere. Andrew Sanchez has faith in his ability to be able to get the victory this Friday evening. Sanchez will be able to show he is a more well-rounded fighter. Sanchez will be able to show his ability and if there is an area during the fight he is not having the best success he will be able to change it. This will give Sanchez a better chance of coming away with the victory as he will always be playing towards his strength.
Andrew Sanchez on How Will This Fight Play Out?
Going into a fight each fighter will have a gameplan and a rough idea of how the fight will play out. This may be due to seeing a weakness of their opposition that they are confident they can take advantage of. This could be something like their opponent not being able to stop takedowns. If this was the case and they were facing a wrestler he should be able to punish this. Speaking about how he sees this fight playing out and giving us a prediction Sanchez said;
“Karl is a dangerous and respectable opponent, I believe I will tko him via strikes in the 2nd or 3rd round”
This shows that Sanchez is respecting Karl and knows this will not be an easy fight. Sanchez will be respecting Karl’s ability however, he does have faith in his ability. Sanchez has faith in is his ability to be able to find the stoppage victory. This being the case Sanchez feels he will be too strong for Karl on the night and be able to find the TKO stoppage in the 2nd or 3rd round. This is respecting Karl’s ability to take a few punches and not go down after the first hard shot.
How Is PFL Compared to Other Organisations?
Throughout a fighter’s career, they may compete for many different organisations. This could be due to the start of their career they were just trying to build up as much experience as they could. However it could be due to fighters just taking any offer that gets sent to them. Throughout his career, Sanchez has been able to compete in not only the PFL however, the UFC and other organisations. I was able to ask Andrew Sanchez how the PFL compares to other organisations like the UFC. Not only that but also about how fighting in the PFL compares to them. Speaking about his experience Sanchez explained;
“PFL is the best organization I have fought for. They take good care of there athletes, and I think there tournament style of fighting, and potential to win a million dollars, makes PFL unique to all other organizations”
This shows that Andrew Sanchez is fighting for an organisation which can treat their fighters with respect. Sanchez being able to fight in the best organisation can be beneficial for both parties. This is due to if Sanchez can keep the victories coming then more eyes will come on to support him. This will bring more eyes to the sport and more revenue for the PFL. On the other hand, Sanchez will want to be fighting for an organisation which can show him the respect he deserves. This seems to be the case so far which shows the healthy relationship between the two parties.
Andrew Sanchez on How He Handles the Pressure from Fans
Fighters are going to have to deal with a lot of different things when it comes to fight week. One of these things fighters are going to have to deal with is the pressure from fans. This is due to some fans expecting every fighter to come into the cage and put on a highlight reel finish every time he steps into the octagon. Speaking about how he handles this pressure as well as the overall pressure of fight week Sanchez explains;
“Faith in god, faith in my coaches and my team, faith in myself. I try to just be myself as geniunely as I can be, and to hold nothing back in the cage, I try not to think about anything outside of my mission in there whether it be fans, or any kind of external pressure”
This shows that Sanches believes that the faith of his coaches keeps him calm during the fight week. Sanchez believes in his team to be able to come up with the best game plan. This is to help him to be able to get the stoppage victory. This is the place where Sanchez is confident he can give the fans something to cheer for as he doesn’t hold anything back. Sanchez looks to leave it all in the cage and not let the fight get to the judge’s scorecards. If he can do this he knows he will be able to get the stoppage victory.
Featured image credit to Embed from Getty Images