Sanchez interview: If Penn drops out of UFC 101, he'll be ready

Diego Sanchez was a lot of fun to cover around The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. Between the rambling trash talking, the fight itself and his mean-man face during the weigh-in and the start of the fight, Sanchez gave us plenty to smile about. Some of the best stuff came during the prefight when he was asked about his long relationship with former UFC Octagon girl Ali Sonoma. Sanchez told Cagewriter that he's been single for two weeks. It's over for now with the fabulous Sonoma said Sanchez, because there are too many big things on the horizon. As Sanchez gave the explanation, he also included an odd statement about being ready if the UFC needed a fill-in come August 8:

Watch Sanchez talk about his future with Cagewriter before the fight (4:00 mark):

Penn is slated to defend his UFC lightweight belt against Kenny Florian at UFC 101. Rumors are flying again about Penn's lack of interest in fighting Ken-Flo and fighting in general. He just added a baby daughter to his family and may be lacking motivation. How hard is he training and how much does he weight today, a little over six weeks away from the fight? If he's thinking that he may have to fill in, it sounds like Sanchez is hearing the same thing.

UPDATE: Odd timing on this weight update VIDEO from B.J. Penn. Maybe he heard about Sanchez's comments. Penn certainly isn't letting himself get fat, weighing in at a healthy 167 pounds.

Sanchez speaks early on in the video (shot shortly after his TUF 9 win over Clay Guida) about fighting with the same determination he did as a youngster before he was on the Ultimate Fighter. He also commented that today's Diego would crush the 185-pound Diego from TUF 1 days.

B.J. Penn update via MMAConvert