Diego Sanchez returns at UFC 164 in Milwaukee

Following a narrow split-decision win over Takanori Gomi in March, veteran UFC lightweight Diego Sanchez will return in August at UFC 164.

Sanchez (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) today revealed the fight date on MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

No opponent has been set, but “The Ultimate Fighter 1? winner and former title challenger said there are too many good options to name them all.

“I talked to (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva yesterday, and he penciled me in for Aug. 31,” Sanchez said. “We’re looking at opponents. I did like I always do and said, ‘Look, you’re the man, Joe. You’re the one who makes all these big matchups. And I’m, in my opinion, in the most stacked division in the UFC, and there are plenty of great fights out there, and you’ll hook me up with a good scrap.’”

UFC 164 takes place Aug. 31 at Bradley Center in Milwaukee. According to Sanchez, he will be part of the night’s pay-per-view main card. Currently, he’s the only fighter rumored for the card.

But as for a possible opponent? Sanchez said there are plenty of options. He mentioned Pat Healy, Josh Thomson, Gilbert Melendez, Nate Diaz, Joe Lauzon and Jamie Varner (who recently called him out) all as possibilities.

“There are so many good fights in that division that I couldn’t narrow it down to one,” he said.

So he said the onus is now on Silva to pick one he likes.

Sanchez, who last vied for a title in 2009, is currently on a 3-1 run, which included victories over welterweights Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann. After a loss to Jake Ellenberger, he returned to lightweight and picked up the controversial win over Gomi at UFC on FUEL TV 8.

Now, he’s hoping for a final run at the belt. And if a fellow hopeful wants to meet him at UFC 164 and calls him out, he understands.

“I’m totally used to it,” he said. “I don’t take it as any disrespect at all. I see it as an honor. If someone wants to fight me, that’s a compliment.”

For more on UFC 164, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.